Dave Benham

There are several online depth of field calculators around but I do like this one from Don Fleming. It’s bang up to date with all the latest D-SLR models, and makes the proper adjustment for a full frame sensor compared to an APS-C sized sensor. Did you know that shooting at f/5.6 on a D300 gives the equivalent depth of field of f/8 on an older Hasselblad? Read David Ziser’s post at Digital Pro Talk for a great argument on how using lower f stops is possible with digital equipment.

I like the DOF calculator as a quick reference – for example here I can see shooting at a subject 10 feet away using a 50mm lens at f/2.8, objects just under a foot in front of the subject and just over a foot behind will also be in focus. A graphical representation is shown as well, example below.

Try the online depth of field calculator here, hope you find it useful!

I’ve got some bad news if you’ve been saving up for the monster Sigma 200-500mm f/2.8 zoom lens pictured above. Just as you managed to scrimp and save the last of the £15,999 recommended retail price it’s now gone up an incredible £8,000 during February! £23,999 for a lens? I think I’ll lose that extra few stops and go for a teleconvertor thanks all the same.

According to Amateur Photographer’s report on the price increase, there are customers for this lens – military and nature shooters apparently. How you could move stealthily with this is a bit of a mystery, but with the mysterious “attachment” listed on the product page you double the reach to 400-1000mm f/5.6.  It’s the scale of the lens that is mindblowing (and muscle destroying – 14kg of glass!).

Pictures courtesy of DPnow.com

Quick post tonight – I’ve had a few situations recently when I’ve wanted to check out product videos or shows which use geolocation and your IP address to work out that you’re not in the US. Because of licensing agreements this can often be the case. So how do you watch the shows?

ReadWriteWeb put me on to a great free little VPN product called AnchorFree. Not only is it free, but when you connect and browse through it you are automatically routed through their network in the US. Which gives you a US IP address!

Download Anchorfree VPN software from here.

Nikon D100, 24-85mm @ 85mm, 1/60th at f/4.5, on camera flash

We’re expecting our second child in the next couple of weeks. With our first, my Wife packed her bag for the hospital a couple of centimetres dilated – she’s prepared a little earlier this time. It’s got me thinking as well. With Harry we got transferred from the birth centre at Lymington to Southampton, and I had to switch cars to follow the ambulance. Typically my D100 was in the other car… The shot above was the first picture I took of Harry the next day – I did take shots on my phone but it’s not quite the same! You’ll have to excuse the composition and shadows, even at this stage I was exhausted!

This time I’m putting together my bag to take with us to the hospital. I’ve pretty much decided on the contents. The D700 (obviously) with 24-70 f/2.8 lens is the mainstay. High ISO performance means no flash is needed, just as well – best not annoy the staff! Couple of 8Gb Sandisk CF cards, lens cleaning materials, Lowepro Topload Zoom Pro bag and job’s a good ‘un. My only (minor) worry is the EN-EL3e battery – it’s lasting far too well, and it’s bound to run out just when I need it. I do have a third party backup with alledgedly greater capacity, however so far it’s failed to live up to this expectation.

Amateur Photographer magazine in the UK have launched round one of their annual Amateur Photographer of the Year competition. Sponsored this year by Canon, there are ten themes to submit against through to the end of November this year, and £25,000 worth of prizes to give away.

It’s particularly good to see that this year you’re able to submit pictures via email to the competition. There are a couple of stipulations (maximum image size of 2700 pixels on the long edge for example) but on the whole much easier than posting them in with a form. I’ll post the full details on how to submit a shot in the next day or so.

This month’s topic is Leading Lines, closing on March 6th. The results will be in the magazine at the end of March. I’ve submitted a shot, I’ll keep you posted on the results!