As soon as I placed the order for my Canon 1D Mark IV I started to look into some accessories that I knew I would need. There are always a few things that you have to get when you buy a new camera (or any other electronic gadget for that matter) like batteries, memory cards, etc. Here are a few of the things that I immediately wanted to go with my new camera:

Batteries: This is absolutely the first thing I buy when I get a new camera. I can’t imagine why the manufacturers think it’s OK to ship a camera with a single battery, but they always do. The 1D Mark IV uses the same Canon LP-E4 battery as the other recent 1D cameras, including the 1D Mark III and the 1Ds Mark III. The OEM Canon version of these batteries sell for over $100, but there are many after market equivalents available for $30 to $50. I have always used aftermarket batteries in my cameras and have never had a problem, and I would have no problem recommending that for this camera as well.

Memory Cards: The 1D Mark IV takes both CompactFlash cards and SDHC cards. I have a pretty good supply of CF cards (be sure to get fast UDMA cards) but I needed to pick up a couple of SD cards. I recommend Lexar 8GB SDHC cards, but many other cards will do the trick too. Just be sure to get at least Class 6 cards for best performance with video.

Camera Bag: I want to be able to carry a good selection of lenses in addition to my camera body, and my old bag simply wasn’t big enough. Of course this happens all the time with photographers… We always need new bags! I did a lot of research and decided that the best bag for me was the Tamrac 777 Summit. Everyone’s needs are different, but this bag is definitely worth checking out.

Video Microphone: I haven’t done enough video with the new camera yet to really know, but everyone says that the built in mic simply isn’t good enough. So I immediately invested in a shotgun microphone from Rode called the VideoMic. I honestly haven’t even tested it yet, but I’m told that it’s a great mic for shooting videos with a DSLR. It attaches to the camera via the hotshoe and connects directly to the mic in port on the side of the camera.

As with all new cameras I’m sure there will be many more purchases over the next few months, but these things were enough to get me started. I’d love to hear about any other gadgets that might help make the camera better and easier to use!

I’ve had my new Canon EOS 1D Mark IV camera for a little over a week now and I thought I would share a little bit about my experience with it so far. This is my first pro level 1D series camera and it really is a different beast than the Canon EOS 40D that I’ve been using for the last couple of years. I have definitely had a steep learning curve while figuring out the differences between the 1D and the 40D. Regardless, I have some definite thoughts already and I wanted to share them here. I’d love to hear some feedback from other people who have already made the jump or are planning to do so soon. Please hit me in the comments below!

The Things I Really Like

1. High ISO Performance: Simply put, this camera shots in the dark. I’m not a major pixel peeper and I haven’t done any measurements using a microscope or by zooming in to 10000%, but it’s very clear just by looking at the images shot at ISO 5000 that they are cleaner than images at 1000 on my 40D. I have no problem just letting the Auto ISO pick whatever ISO it needs.
2. Dynamic Range: Not only is the ISO performance better, but this camera also finds detail in the shadows unlike any camera I’ve ever used before. Some of the images right out of the camera have some of that surreal tonemapped look that HDR images often display. In fact some of my images see into dark areas that I could barely see with my eyes. It’s really quite incredible.
3. Auto ISO: I typically shoot in aperture priority and with my 40D I often had to manually choose a higher ISO than that camera would pick in auto mode just to maintain an acceptable shutter speed. The Mark IV knows what ISO it needs to pick to prevent motion blur and it has such a huge range of acceptable ISO’s that it has a huge amount of leeway to do so. This is absolutely my favorite feature of the new camera!
4. 7 Stop Auto Exposure Brackets: I do a lot of exposure blending and I love to have 5 to 7 images to choose from. I don’t always use them all, but it’s nice to have them. The 40D will shoot a maximum of 3 images per bracket and as a result I always had to shoot 2 brackets to get the shots I wanted. This often caused a slight shift in the camera position while I was changing the exposure setting, and resulting images were out of register. I love that I can now just tell the camera to shoot 7 images and then use the self timer to let it rip!
5. Better Autofocus: The autofocus system on this camera is so different than the 40D that it’s still a little bit alien to me. I haven’t quite figured out how to use best it in every situation, but two things are really great. The first is the AF speed. Every one of my lenses focuses faster and more accurately on this camera than they did on my 40D. I know that my 40D needs an overhaul and I will be sending it to Canon soon. But even when it was brand new it didn’t perform anywhere near as well as this one. The other thing is that I can now shoot with lenses (or combination’s of lenses and teleconverters) having a maximum aperture of only f/8. Previously when I used a TC on my Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS lens (which has an effective maximum aperture of f/8) on the 40D I had to manually focus the lens. The 1D Mark IV has no problem focusing with this combination, even in the relatively low light after the sun sets or before it rises. It is fast and accurate and that’s a good thing! (Yes, I realize that this combination is not recommended, but sometimes that extra length is the most important factor…)
6. 2 Card Slots: I love that every one of my images can be immediately backed up onto a second card at the time of capture. I’m a backup fanatic and this is a huge improvement over having only 1 card slot. Unfortunately video can only be saved on one card, so it doesn’t get backed up in camera.
7. Video: Speaking of video… I’ve never been much of a videographer, but I have been doing more and more of it lately and I’m increasingly excited that this camera has a 1080p HD video mode. I will definitely be using it, but I also have a lot to learn before I can do it effectively.

The Things I Don’t Like

1. No Custom Exposure Modes: My 40D has three programmable modes on the mode dial (C1, C2, and C3) that could be programmed with shooting settings for instantly access in different shooting settings. I used these all the time and the fact that the 1D cameras don’t have them surprised me a lot. I knew that there was no mode dial, but I still expected to be able to choose the custom modes using the same mode button and menu used to choose the other exposure modes. I think the rationale for not having them is that most pros will carry 2 (or more) cameras and each camera will be set up for a specific type of shooting. But it would be so easy to include them for those of us that don’t want to carry 2 big cameras all the time that I just can’t understand why Canon would leave them out.
2. 2 Types of Card Slots: I love that there are two slots, but I hate that I now need 2 different types of memory cards. I’ve been shooting solely on CompactFlash cards for a long time and now I also need to carry SDHC cards. Fortunately SDHC cards are relatively cheap and I was able to pick up a few at very reasonable prices over the holiday season.
3. No Dedicated Video Start Button: The live view mode can be used to control the still shooting settings, or for shooting video, but not both. If you want to switch between them then you must first go into the menu to tell the camera if live view should be used for stills or for video. This is really annoying for anyone that uses the camera for both video and for landscape shooting, and there should be a way to switch between the modes without having to dive into the menus.

The Things that are Just Different (not better, not worse)

• Size: the 1D is much bigger and heavier than the 40D. I don’t mind this, but it does take some getting used to.
• Integral Battery Grip: this is a big part of the reason why it is bigger and heavier. Some people will love this as it gives a lot more battery power and also provides an extra set of shooting controls for when the camera is in the portrait orientation. I’ve never really had a burning need for either of these features, so it’s not really a big advantage for me. I will definitely use the extra controls for shooting portrait, but I’ve never had a problem with battery life before.
• No Pop-Up Flash: I almost never used the flash on my 40D, so not having one on the Mark IV won’t hurt me. I’m more than a little dissapointed that the 1D didn’t get the built in wireless flash controller that the Canon EOS 7D recently came out with, but even that’s not that big a loss. I normally use radio frequency remote triggers for my flashes anyway.

Well that’s everything I have to say for now. These are just my initial impressions and I’m sure that these lists will grow over the coming weeks and months as I learn more about my camera. Like I said above, I’d love to hear about your thoughts and experiences, so please leave a comment with anything you’ve got!

In the last installment of Quick Tips for Photographers we talked about Shooting the Moon. Well I’ve got another great tip for you to make even better images of the moon.

Make the Moon Look Really Big

Most people automatically shoot images of the moon with really wide angle lenses. The natural assumption is that a great Landscape image will look even better if it includes the moon. This is true, but the thing is, the moon is really far away and if you shoot it with a wide lens, it’s going to look really small. You’re far better to use the longest lens you’ve got. This will allow you to take advantage of a principle called Telephoto Compression; this is where distant objects appear to be closer, and larger, than they really are when they are magnified

So how do you make this work with the moon?

1. Figure out when you need to be at your chosen destination so that you see the Full Moon when it is near the horizon. I prefer to do this at sunrise or sunset so that the light of the moon is nicely balanced with the landscape around it. Note that for every Full Moon there will be at least 2, and sometimes 3, opportunities when the rising or setting moon coincides with the rising or setting sun. You can use TimeandDate.com to figure out when the next one will be.
2. Find a really scenic vista that you can see unobstructed from a long way away.
3. Back up a long way so that you can fill the frame appropriately with the main subject (other than the moon), and still have room to include the moon.
4. Arrive plenty early so you have time to get your gear set up in advance of the rising or setting moon, and so that you can change positions if you don’t have the moon perfectly aligned with your main subject.
5. Make plenty of images as the sun and the moon rise and set. The light will be perfect for only a few minutes for each opportunity.
6. Be prepared for the weather to totally bust you more often than not. I honestly try to make moon images almost every month, and in the last year I’ve only been successful 3 times. That’s just how it goes as a landscape shooter. Sometimes the weather cooperates, sometimes it doesn’t.

This is the next installment in my series of Quick Tips for photographers.

It seems that every photographer wants to have a great image of the moon in their collection. Why? Because it’s there! And because it’s cool!

Most people that set out to shoot the moon expect that it will be hard to do, that you will need to use long exposures, and maybe even a tripod. In short, they expect to have to shoot it like any other night time shot. Using a tripod is always a great idea if you want to make really sharp images, but for the moon it’s not strictly required. In fact, shooting the moon is more like a daytime shot rather than a night time shot.

Photographing the Moon

Although it may be counter-intuitive, the moon is actually very bright. We can only see the moon because it reflects the light of the sun. That means that the Sunny 16 Rule is actually a great starting point to make images of the moon.

The moon is not quite as bright as a sunny day, so you will probably want to add at least 1 stop of light to the exposure that you calculated using the Sunny 16 Rule to get it just right. So instead of 1/ISO at f/16, you might try f/11 instead.

Modified Sunny 16 Rule for Shooting the Moon:
Aperture = f/11
Shutter = 1/ISO

An equivalent exposure that I like to use for shooting the moon is:
f/8 @ ISO 200 and 1/400th of a second

I like these settings because ISO 200 provides a nice clean (noise-free) images for most modern cameras, and 1/400th is easily hand-holdable unless you are using very long lenses.

NOTE – if you want to zoom in tight on the moon then you will need to use an extremely long lens. In that case you will absolutely want to use an equivalent exposure that includes a very fast shutter speed.

For example, I occasionally use my 400mm lens with a 2x teleconverter to get an equivalent focal length of 800mm. In that case I want to ensure that I get at least 1/1000th of a second to get tack sharp images. To do so I will typically open up the aperture to f/5.6 and also increase my ISO to 400. Doing so allows me to use a shutter speed as fast as 1/1600th of a second.

An equivalent exposure for shooting the moon with long lenses:
f/5.6 @ ISO 400 and 1/1600th of a second

As in all exposure decisions you will want to salt to taste depending on your particular equipment and environment…

A final word on shooting the moon:

Most people that make images of the moon do so when the moon is full. That’s actually the most boring time to shoot the moon, because the entire moon is lit up and it ends up coming out flat and boring. The most interesting images of the moon are taken when only part of it is lit, which is about 1 week before or after the full moon. In this situation the moon is only partially lit which makes the texture from the craters on its surface really pop because the shadows behind them are visible.

This trick is also true for many other forms of photography.

If you want your subject to look interesting, only light part of it!

This is the next installment in my series of Quick Tips for photographers. This one is an oldie but a goodie…

Sometimes your camera will be confused by the lighting conditions around it. In those cases it’s always a good idea to have a feeling for a good starting point for what the correct exposure settings to use will be.

Way back in the olden days (before histograms and light meters were built into the camera), photographers had to do this in their heads, and they had to do it all the time. They developed lots of rules of thumb to help. Here’s one that you can used to determine the correct exposure on a bright sunny day.

The Sunny 16 Rule

On a bright sunny day, if you set your aperture (or F-stop) to f/16, then the shutter speed required to get a good exposure will simply be 1 / ISO.

Some modifiers for this rule:

• If you are at a white sandy beach or shooting in snow then you may need to stop down by 1 stop to cut glare and reflections.
• If your background is darker or there are important areas of the scene in the shade then you may need to open up by 1 stop to fill in the shadows.
• You may have to “salt to taste” to get an exposure that matches your creative expectation!

NOTE – If you need a refresher on Aperture, F-stop, Stop Down, or Open Up, then check out my earlier post on Apertures and F-stops.

For the Advanced Class

f/16 at 1/ISO should be considered to be your starting point, and you can always add salt to taste if you want to change the look of the image (Tip – use the histogram on your LCD to check your exposure). You can also use that exposure information to calculate a whole series of equivalent exposures depending on the creative decisions you want to make.

For example, if you want to blur the background then you might want to use f/2.8 instead of f/16. In this case you simply need to figure out how many full stops brighter f/2.8 is than f/16, and then take away that much light be increasing the shutter speed or decreasing the ISO.

Every time you move either the Aperture, the Shutter, or the ISO from one of the standard settings in the table above to the adjacent setting to the left of it, you are “Stopping Down” your exposure by 1 full stop, which means you will use half the light of the previous setting. As you move to the right you “Open Up” by 1 full stop, which means you will get twice as much light. If you Stop Down the aperture by one stop, then you must Open Up the Shutter or the ISO by one stop in order to maintain the equivalent exposure.

A practical example: Moving from f/16 to f/2.8 is 5 full stops more light. To achieve an equivalent exposure you would have to take away 5 stops. You could do that by Stopping Down the ISO or the Shutter. Changing the ISO from 3200 down to 100, or increasing the Shutter Speed from 1/4 sec up to 1/125th sec are equivalent moves.

NOTE – Modern cameras allow many more choices for Aperture, Shutter, and ISO. They generally allow adjustments in half, third, or even quarter stops. It is very important that you understand how much you have to change to affect your exposure by a full stop! And as always, practice makes perfect!