I previously posted a review of the i-GotU GT-200 GPS Data Logger and that article is by far the most popular post I have on this site. I’ve never really been happy with this device and I had planned to sell it, but I never actually got around to it. I recently started using it again because I went on a couple of photography outings for which I really wanted to be able to record my track and to geotag my photos. Since then I have been using it regularly again and so I thought I should post an updated review. Here are a few comments that I have after a few more weeks of use:

The things that I dislike the most about this gadget haven’t changed:

• The indication lights on it are hard to see and difficult to interpret.
• The on/off button is not a tactile switch, and it is easily pressed unintentionally.
• There is no battery indicator so it’s really a guess as to its charge status.
• The device can’t be mounted directly as a drive on the computer.
• It uses a proprietary USB cable instead of a standard cable.

Honestly, most of the things I like about it haven’t changed either:

• It is very small and lightweight.
• It is accurate enough for my needs.
• The battery life is good.

There has been one major improvement that I have to mention; there is an updated version of the @trip PC Suite management software for the device (that is used both to setup the device options and also to download the data) that actually installs correctly. When I first got the gadget, installation of the included version of the software repeatedly failed, miserably, and I had to jump through hoops to get it to work. The new version installed easily. Note that if you have the 64-bit version of Windows 7 you need to download a beta version of the @trip PC software. I can’t see how it’s any different from the full version, and it also installed perfectly on my laptop.

So that’s about it. I’m going to continue to use the device for now, but I am looking at other devices that will mount directly as a drive in Windows. This would speed up my workflow enough that I would be more likely to use it all the time. I’ve read some pretty good reviews of the Amod AGL3080 and that will likely be the next GPS Datalogger that I pick up.

There are many resources on the internet that help new and experienced photographers alike to learn more about their craft. These range from websites, to blogs, to iPhone apps, and to online training services. While some of these resources do cost money, many of them are relatively inexpensive, or even free. And the simple truth is that the cost may have no bearing on the quality. Some of the most expensive resources aren’t as well produced or as useful as some others that are free.

Because I spend so much time in my car, my favorite class of learning resource is the Podcast. If you aren’t familiar with podcasts you owe it to yourself to check them out. Basically podcasts are audio or video files that are released in a series of episodes similar to syndicated radio or TV programming. They are generally (always?) free and they often command huge audiences.

Over the last several years I have been a regular listener of many photography related podcasts. As I mentioned above these are great resources for learning about technology, art, business, marketing, and just about any other aspect of photography you could think of.

These shows come and go, so the list of podcasts is always changing, but here is my current list of favorites. Most of these are weekly, but some are produced biweekly, monthly, or even randomly:

1. This Week in Photography – Audio
2. PhotoNetCast – Audio
3. Camera Dojo – Audio
4. The Pro Photography Show – Audio
5. The Digital Story – Audio
6. The Image Doctors (Nikonians) – Audio
7. LightSource – Audio
8. Exif and Beyond – Audio
9. Photoshop User TV (NAPP) – Video
10. D-Town TV (NAPP) – Video

NOTE – I shoot Canon but the Nikonians are still very interesting. They do occasionally talk about very specific Nikon topics, but most of their shows contain broadly photography related information and even the Nikon stuff can generally be applied to everyone else…

All of these shows have their own website, to which I have linked above, but they can also be subscribed to in an RSS reader or in iTunes. There are many other photography podcasts out there in addition to these. A quick search of Podcast Alley, iTunes, or even Google will surely help you find more if this list doesn’t have enough good stuff for you!

I’d love to know about any other really great podcasts that I should be listening to. What are your favorite shows? Please drop me a comment down below to let me know what you’re listening to.

I don’t typically get too excited about beta software, particularly for my production environment, but this is one that I’ve really been waiting for! The first public beta of Lightroom 3 didn’t get me too excited. It didn’t really offer enough new stuff for me to bother with the hassles of the fact that it was beta, and in fact it had certain features that were disabled that made it problematic to use (like luminance noise reduction). But the new beta offers several new features that I’ve been hoping to see in Lightroom and I will definitely be giving this version a full workout.

One final word before I talk any further… This is Beta software. Your results may vary, and there is significant potential that you could really do some damage to your photography collection if you use this software. It hasn’t been released for production yet because it’s not ready. Be careful.

• Video Support: We didn’t get full on video editing yet, but at least we finally have some rudimentary management tools that allow viewing, flagging, keywording, and captioning of video files in exactly the same way that still images are cataloged. I certainly hope that they expand this further to include basic edits (clipping, exporting, and global exposure adjustments) but for now this is a huge step over the old version!
• Tethered Shooting: With this version they have added support importing live images directly into Lightroom when shooting while a camera is connected to the computer. This is a studio and product shooters dream. I won’t use it a lot, but every once in awhile it will be very useful.
• Performance Improvements: I haven’t tested the new version enough to fully buy into this one yet, but I really hope that this one is true, and the new version does seem to be a little bit snappier. I will definitely be watching to see how this pans out.

For a complete list of the new and upgraded features the best place to go is the Lightroom Team Blog. You can also check out the release notes included with the update.

To download the program head on over to the Adobe Labs site.

Here are a few more sites you can check for additional information and commentary:

• Jeffrey Friedl’s: Lightroom 3 Beta 2 and My Plugins
• The Lightroom Queen: What’s New in Lightroom 3.0 Beta 2?
• Terry White: Lightroom 3 Public Beta 2: What’s New?

This one really is going to be short and sweet.

Every single person that ever uses a camera, from the top professionals to the rank amateurs, makes bad images. In fact, the dirty little secret is that the best photographers make a lot more bad images than new photographers. Of course that’s because they shoot a lot more frames than beginners, but the one big thing that sets them apart from all the others is that they know which images to show people and which ones to delete.

So if you make an image that is out of focus, badly composed, or just plain ugly, then delete it. You’ll feel better about yourself, your portfolio will be stronger, and everyone that sees your work will think that you’re a better shooter too because they will only ever see good images from you.

The hard drive in your computer, and your entire backup system, will also thank you because you will have far fewer images to store and to backup. You do backup your image files don’t you?

I got a few followup questions from my friend after my response to his request for advice about baby photography, so I figured I might as well put my additional answers up here too:

Should I be taking the shot in B/W or converting it later?

I always shoot in color and convert in software later. That way you have both options. If you shoot in B&W in the camera then you are stuck with it. But if you shoot in RAW (rather than JPG) then it doesn’t matter. The preview on the back of the camera would be in B&W if you shoot in B&W mode (which can be helpful to visualize the image in B&W), but the actually file will have full color and you can do whatever you want with the file.

Lens Hood required with the 50mm?

I use hoods on all my lenses to help protect the lenses if I drop them. The hoods for the 50′s are so small that they don’t really help much for flare or reflections. You can get after-market hoods for most lenses from stores like DealExtreme.com for less than $10 (compared to 2 to 3 times as much for branded hoods from Canon and Nikon), so for me it’s a no-brainer.

I have the 580EX [flash], should I be leaving it at home? Or is bouncing flash of the ceiling OK to do in low light?

Nice flash! I carry my flashes with me all the time and I use them a lot. I pretty much only use them by bouncing off the walls or the ceiling (or off-camera in a Softbox). It’s a different look than ambient only, but if you’re careful with it then it can still look very good. I probably use a flash less with my 50 than with other lenses, but I still use it a lot. You may want to use it at the hospital, but they may not be very happy with you if you do. I would definitely take it so you have it if you need it! After you bring baby home then you will be shooting so much that you should experiment with flash and no-flash and see what you like.