Lens Flare: Love It or Hate It?

You are receiving this message because you signed up for the Popular Photography e-newsletter. Click here if you wish to unsubscribe. Lens Flare: Love It or Hate It? No images? View the online version. May 23, 2013 Breaking news from America's top photo magazines Photo Challenge Finalists: Lens Flare Take that, lens coatings Lens companies often go to great lengths to fight lens flare. But, to some shooters, those unpredictable streaks, spots, and stars of light make for an extremely appealing aesthetic. For last month's photo challenge, we asked you to go out and push your lenses to their limits. SEE MORE >> The New Flickr: Free Accounts Get 1 TB of Storage, Entire Experience Gets a Redesign An aggressive new strategy in an attempt to make Flickr awesome again Camera Test: Nikon D5200 Higher resolution, better autofocus, and faster bursts—not to mention a swiveling LCD, all for a swoon-worthy price Your Best Shot: May 2013 Enter for a chance to win cash and be printed in the magazine Photo of the Day See the whole gallery here.  Be the first to hear about new stuff on PopPhoto.com by subscribing to our revamped RSS feed! TECH SUPPORT Why Midrange Apertures are Sharper Judging by reader mail, there's still some confusion out there about aperture selection and image sharpness. While smaller apertures (e.g., f/22) produce deeper slices of sharpness from front to back, the central focused-upon subject of your picture will usually always be sharper when captured by an intermediate aperture (e.g., f/8). Why? Because of diffraction. When light rays strike an object, such as the diaphragm blades of a lens, the rays tend to bend or diffract, an action that adversely affects sharpness. When you set your smallest aperture, a greater percentage of all the light rays transmitted through the lens are diffracted, resulting in a subject that's relatively fuzzy compared to what's possible with the less-diffracted rays typical of wider apertures. And why do the widest apertures (e.g., f/2.8) also produce a relatively fuzzy subject? That's a subject for another "Tech Support." Do you have Tech Support Question? Post it on our Facebook Page.   More from PopPhoto.com:   Change your preferences | Unsubscribe | Privacy Policy | Forward this email Add newsletter@email.popphoto.com to your address book to ensure our emails reach your inbox. Copyright © Bonnier Corporation, 460 N. Orlando Ave., Suite 200, Winter Park, FL 32789 Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are those of the sponsors and are not an endorsement nor do they reflect the opinions of Bonnier Corporation or any of its publications.

Shoot Better Travel Photos. Plus: This Month's Photo Challenge

You are receiving this message because you signed up for the Popular Photography e-newsletter. Click here if you wish to unsubscribe. Shoot Better Travel Photos. Plus: This Month's Photo Challenge No images? View the online version. May 16, 2013 Breaking news from America's top photo magazines Get a Fixer: Using a Local Guide For Better Travel Photography When traveling abroad, you may need a driver, translator, negotiator, and guide; here's how to hire one Hiring a fixer can mean anything from an informal arrangement with a guide to a big production where a fixer-in-chief coordinates drivers, translators, and others. Fixers aren't for vacation photography, but for serious exploration of a culture. So should you find a fixer for your next photo adventure? SEE MORE >> Traveling Photographer: Iceland Here you'll find verdant green mountains rising to meet the sea, thousands of elegant waterfalls, exotic wildlife, geysers, and miles of unspoiled beaches Traveling Photographer: Belize Belize serves up a delightful cocktail of white sandy beaches, turquoise Caribbean waters, steamy green jungles, and blue mountain views May 2013 Photo Challenge: Motion Blur Enter for a chance to be published in the magazine Photo of the Day See the whole gallery here.  Be the first to hear about new stuff on PopPhoto.com by subscribing to our revamped RSS feed! TECH SUPPORT Meter Reader Q. What's the difference between evaluative, centerweighted, and spotmetering? A. All camera meters try to make some part of the frame appear as a midtone, right between very light and very dark. Evaluative metering divides the frame up into segments, compares the readings in each section, and decides on an appropriate pattern for determining exposure. Centerweighted takes into account all the light, but puts a heavy emphasis on the middle of the frame. Spotmetering uses a small percentage of the frame, often less than 5 percent and typically in the center, though some cameras let you link it to the active AF point. While evaluative is best for most situations, centerweighted works well for subjects such as group portraits. For the most control, use spotmetering to choose the midtone. Do you have Tech Support Question? Post it on our Facebook Page.   More from PopPhoto.com:   Change your preferences | Unsubscribe | Privacy Policy | Forward this email Add newsletter@email.popphoto.com to your address book to ensure our emails reach your inbox. Copyright © Bonnier Corporation, 460 N. Orlando Ave., Suite 200, Winter Park, FL 32789 Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are those of the sponsors and are not an endorsement nor do they reflect the opinions of Bonnier Corporation or any of its publications.

Pentax MX-1; Best Canon Cameras for Dads and Grads; Win a Tamron 24-70MM lens

View email in your browser Pentax MX-1 Review Pentax's new MX-1 is a classically designed, compact digicam that provides high image quality and good performance with a sense of style. Featuring a 1/1.7-inch, 12-Megapixel backlit CMOS image sensor and a 4x optical zoom lens with a maximum aperture of f/1.8-2.5, you will have no problems shooting indoors or in other low-light situations. A large 3.0-inch LCD screen, Full 1080p HD video capture and sensor shift image stabilization top off the technology of the camera, while its metal and brass accents will age and give a true classic look and feel over time. Looking at the MX-1 you will immediately notice how thick it looks and how heavy it is when you pick it up. It is definitely one of the beefier cameras that we have seen in a while, but it has a very sturdy feel that allows you to wield it with confidence. Its rubberized grips give you good control with one hand or two, and the tiltable LCD screen allows you to shoot at difficult angles with ease. The lack of an EVF or OVF takes away from the classic styling a bit, but we would not like to see the body get any bigger. Framing and viewing your images with the 3.0-inch, 920,000 dot LCD screen is not only easy in just about any lighting condition, it is also a pleasure. The incredibly high resolution allows you to see a great deal of detail while shooting. Pentax has also given you the option to display an electronic level and histogram for additional control and information. We did have a couple of instances of accidentally changing the Exposure Compensation dial with its location on the top edge of the camera... Continue Reading Canon PowerShot A2600 Review Best Canon Cameras for Dads and Grads Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H200 Review "The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible." -Oscar Wilde May 14th Winner: Bathroom Stuff by Patricia Isbell (Nikon D800 and Tamron 60mm Macro Lens) "I captured this image using my Nikon D800 and Tamron 60mm Macro Lens. I also used my Nikon SB900 Flash, off camera." Click Here to See Today's Photo of the Day Winner! Are you a Steve's Fan on Facebook? Steve's Digicams now has over 6,365 awesome fans around the world and we'd love for you to join our social network. It's a fun place to see high resolution Photo of the Day albums, interact with other shutterbugs, post your own photos, and read our latest articles or reviews! Steve's Digicams Most Popular News Stories Enter to win the Tamron 24-70MM F/2.8 Di VC USD lens! Thanks to the fantastic folks at Tamron, we are able to bring you a giveaway for the SP 24-70MM F/2.8 Di VC USD lens, the world's only full-frame F/2.8 standard zoom with image stabilization. retailing for approximately $1299, the lens can be used with Canon, Nikon and Sony cameras. The lens utilizes Tamron's "Vibration Compensation" image stabilization system, Tamron's Ultrasonic Silent Drive and a 9-blade round diaphragm for perfect bokeh... Continue Reading Adobe Kills Boxed Creative Suite, Moves to Cloud Only Subscriptions Adobe first introduced a subscription plan for Creative Suite, beginning with version 5.5, as reported by Steve's here: Adobe Introduces Creative Suite 5.5 and Subscription Pricing. But, Adobe made a surprising announcement at their MAX conference and said that none of the Creative Suite offerings will be available as boxed products anymore, and that only subscription plans will be available via Creative Cloud. That means if you're a user of Creative Suite Products (for example, Photoshop, InDesign, Dreamweaver or Premiere Pro), you will now need to get those products via a Creative Cloud subscription plan for any version later than CS6... Continue Reading Olympus Celebrates the 50th Anniversary of their PEN line by announcing the all new Digital PEN E-P5 It's been 50 years since Olympus unveiled their PEN F half-frame 35mm SLR film camera, and to celebrate, they've launched their latest model in the Digital PEN line; the PEN E-P5. This model now holds the flagship position in the PEN line-up, with many borrowed features from their OM-D E-M5. Some of its core features include the same 16-megapixel TruePic VI Live MOS image sensor found in the OM-D, FAST AF system, 5-axis image stabilization, a fast mechanical shutter rated up to 1/8000th of a second, new IS-Auto mode that detects camera movement automatically, an intuitive 2x2 dial control interface, built-in Wi-Fi, a tilting 3.0-inch touch screen LCD (1037K dots), and an all new attachable EVF (the VF-4)... Continue Reading Steve's Digicams - http://www.steves-digicams.com Send all Feedback to: fb@steves-digicams.com This bi-monthly newsletter was sent to subscribers and forum members of Steve's Digicams. Steve's Digicams does not rent, sell or lease customer information. You can view our online privacy policy here. Rather not receive our newsletter anymore? We will miss you, but you can click here to unsubscribe. This email was sent by: Steve's DigiCams 909 N. Sepulveda Blvd., 11th Flr El Segundo, CA, 90245, USA