Sensor cleaning update for DSLR and MILC camera sensors

In my NSL Photography Blog article, Essential camera gear protection and maintenance, I discussed the importance of keeping your camera clean to ensure it's ready for your photo sessions and whenever a photo opportunity presents itself. Part of keeping your camera clean is keeping your camera's sensor clean.

Today's DSLRs and MILCs have internal sensor dust removal systems. While they do a credible job, they aren’t 100% effective. Repair shops, and manufacturers offer “professional” cleaning services, but they’re often expensive. Some charge $150 or more, and it can take as long as 3–4 weeks to get your cleaned camera back.

Eventually every interchangeable lens camera will need to have its sensor cleaned, as every time its lens is changed, dust and dirt in the air freely enter its sensor compartment. At times, it may be necessary for photographers to clean the sensor themselves rather than wait for a professional cleaning, particularly when in the field.

Before you switch from DSLR to mirrorless, know how they compare

Compare 7 key areas of DSLRs versus DMIL cameras

With the new Nikon Z series full-frame, digital mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras (DMIL) and Canon's new full-frame EOS R DMIL camera, Sony now has significant prosumer DMIL competition. Now that these manufacturers are fighting it out for supremacy in the quality DMIL market, I think we can expect that improvements in DMIL feature sets and image quality will accelerate significantly in upcoming years.

Major improvements are needed for electronic viewfinders, autofocus on fast-moving targets, battery life and low-light image quality, especially for future pro-level DMIL cameras.

If you're considering a move from DSLR to DMIL cameras, here are seven key areas you need to consider before making the change.

iOS 11.4.1 designed to foil GrayKey and other cracking tools

Since my announcement early yesterday that iOS 11.4.1 was released, I've been getting a steady stream of questions about what's in the release, if iPhone and iPad users should update their devices to it and how to use it's most important new security feature for travelers, “USB Restricted Mode.”

Apple mobile devices have been a premium choice for many photographers and those desiring Apple's iDevice leading edge security.

iOS 11.4.1, like prior iOS releases is compatible with the iPhone 5S or later, iPad mini's or later, the the 6^th generation iPod touch or later. 

So, you're going on a Photowalk? Help yourself enjoy it!

Some might say that if you take your camera and go for a walk, you're on a photowalk. While it's true you would be making photos while you walk, it's not really a photowalk as it's known today.

These days, photowalks are organized events. They typically involve photography of a specific area or genre.

For example, I lead wildlife photography photowalks at the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge ten months per year, as well as travel photography photowalks in Philadelphia, New York, Washington and other cities. I've also led photowalks in botanical gardens for participants to learn about and practice macro/close-up photography, in national parks for landscape photography, at night for night photography, and in cities for street photography.

A critical part of photowalks is their social aspect. Photowalks are for group of photographers, who may or may not know each other. A photowalk permits group interaction to enhance the experience by have participants help each other technically and artistically.

Some photowalks have a leader to organize and lead the walk as well as share their expertise. Sometimes a group self-organizes their own walk, such as a photography club, for a shared photowalk experience.

Top Six Travel Photography Essentials

Today, travelers are often journeying to far-off lands and seas, many to “once-in-a-lifetime” destinations. During the past month, I was on such a trip to the Arctic. Most of the expedition trip was spent in Svalbard, an archipelago halfway between the North Pole and Norway, and in Greenland, with short stops in Oslo, Reykjavik and Paris.

Travelers can find themselves hundreds of miles from the nearest photo store or repair shop at destinations like Svalbard, and Greenland, and while in cities, where photo shops are available, who wants to waste precious time in them, for purchases or repairs.

Travel and photo gear self-sufficiency, while away from home, has become essential, especially for those for whom photography is an important part of their journeys.

It's July 4th, and that means photographing fireworks

Wednesday, we in the United States celebrate our nation's birth. In Philadelphia, America’s birthplace and the nation's first capital, that means after a concert at the foot of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, more than 500,000 people will enjoy one of the largest and most spectacular fireworks displays in the nation.

I'll be there. If you're there too, look for me south of the Art Museum.

Here are my updated tips for photographing fireworks using your digital camera:

Shooting new year's fireworks in frigid climates

In Frostbite Falls they love their cold winters. Rocky and Bullwinkle never miss their cold weather new year's fireworks shows, but they recognize that there are special problems taking fireworks photos when it's below freezing.

For new year's fireworks in frigid climates you have to combine good practices for cold weather photography, with those for night photography, and the special things necessary to capture fireworks, to be successful. Don't be intimidated if you don't have a DSLR. I've seen many wonderful firework's photos taken with quality digital point and shoot cameras.

Digital travel photography - Don't leave home without them!

My mom told me there were two essentials to pack for any trip.

Always take a toothbrush and toothpaste, as tooth decay doesn't vacation just because you do, and always pack clean underwear in perfect condition.

“What would foreigners think of Americans,” she would tell me, “if you got in an accident, were unconscious, and some strange nurse would undress you, only to see your underwear was full of holes?”

If my mom were alive today she might add, for those using digital cameras while traveling, to not leave home without extra memory cards, a spare battery and a way to recharge it.

Here's my list of ten digital photography gear items, in my mom's tradition of, “Never leaving home without them!”

Ten rules for choosing a Digital Photo Frame

In the 21^st century, for many homes, the old picture frame, which holds a single matted photograph for display, is “old hat,” as are those photo albums most of our parents kept of family adventures. Today, when travelers return home, they want to show off every place they've been dynamically, to friends, family and neighbors.

They want a “digital photo frame.” Digital photo frames resemble regular photo frames, except you don't slide a print under the glass. In fact the glass is actually an LCD screen which can display slideshows of your photographs.

It's July 4th...time for the fireworks challenge.

On Sunday, we in the US celebrate the birth of our nation. If you've traveled to Philadelphia, the nation's first capital and America’s birthplace, immediately after the Life, Liberty & You Concert in front of the steps (Some call them the “Rocky” steps from the Rocky movies in which the fictional character, Rocky Balboa runs up the steps.) to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, more than 500,000 people will enjoy one of the largest and most spectacular fireworks displays in the nation.

That’s my segue for my tips for photographing fireworks. Here’s what you need to do to capture them this July 4^th.

Photographing fireworks in winter weather

As Thursday night becomes Friday morning this week, we’ll go from New Years Eve to New Years Day. Across much of the country that means fireworks.

Photographing fireworks takes planning and knowledge at anytime, but January 1^st in much of North America also means it will be cold. Cold weather offers additional challenges for fireworks photography.

Here are my tips for photographing fireworks in cold weather.

Getting my camera ready for the day's travel photography

While traveling, or for that matter, during any photo shoot, for a variety of reasons, photographers may vary any number of major camera settings which control exposure metering, focus, shutter mode, etc. By the end of the day, one’s camera’s settings may be significantly different than when the day began.

The next morning, it’s likely we won’t remember how the camera’s settings were left at the end of the prior day. That can result in  photographs which need extensive retouching and repair, totally blown shots which can only be discarded and missing great shots all together.

At some point this happens to everyone, but it is avoidable.

Avoiding Some Digital Travel Photography Goofs

From time to time we’ve all been there; a great photo opportunity blown because of a silly mistake, misstep, forgotten item, or other reason. Here’s a few suggestions for you to avoid eight common digital travel photography goofs.

• Don’t forget the spare battery — Actually, this one has never happened to me, but a few years ago, in Las Vegas, I realized I left my Nikon battery charger in my office. Fortunately, I was able to have it Fed-Exed it to me. If I would have been out of the country — oh my! I now have a permanent checklist to make sure I take all necessary equipment.
• Don’t forget, your camera has the settings from the last time you used it — Did you ever pick up your camera in the morning, to take a photo of a scene that quickly disappeared, only to find it’s out of focus because you left manual focus on the day before? I have a set procedure each time I get ready to take photos, to ready my camera. I use a DSLR, but you should have a checklist for whatever type of camera you use. Following my checklist ensures my DSLR properly set for the first shot of the day.
• Check battery power.
• Check memory card capacity remaining.
• Set auto-focus to on.
• Set focus mode appropriately.
• Set lens vibration reduction appropriately.
• Set shutter mode into single shot vs. continuous shooting.
• Set the ISO.
• Set shooting mode to aperture priority.
• Set meter mode to 3D Matrix Metering.
• Turn vertical grip shutter release off.
• Set shooting menu setup to appropriate bank.
• Don’t leave your spare memory cards at home — I know many who have done this. Their extra memory cards are always on the dresser. Just like batteries, memory cards are on my checklist.
• Turn off your “Digital Zoom” (Digital Point and Shoot Cameras) — Often if this is forgotten, your telephoto shots will have terrible quality compared to the rest of your photos. “Digital zooming” is not really zooming, in my opinion. “Digital zooming” enlarges a portion of an image, “simulating” optical zoom. To do that, the camera crops the image and then enlarges the cropped portion to full size. That’s why you lose image quality. I recommend you turn your “digital zoom” off, but if you feel you’ll miss a photo you really want, and you aren’t printing your photo past 4”x6”, you may be okay.
• Don’t let your travel photos of your family look like “Police Lineups” in “Law and Order” — I keep seeing this when people show off their vacation photos. In those photos, family and friends are standing erect with straight faces or forced smiles. It’s as if someone said, “Say cheese, or else!” When you take those shots, make them come alive by having your group do something. Have them relax, especially children. You could have them looking at someone, talking, or maybe leaning at a railing. The possibilities are endless.
• Contrary to popular opinion, the light at noon isn’t ideal — Midday is about the worst time to take photos, if it's sunny because the overhead sunlight is strong and harsh. Even if you properly expose the photo, the colors tend to get washed out. Of course, sometimes your opportunity for a particular photograph will not be at an ideal time, so make sure your exposure is spot on. The best daylight times for photography are in the early morning and late afternoon; the “Golden Hours,” which I’ve discussed before. The low-angled sun produces photos with soft, rich, warm colors (yellow, reds, and oranges), and the long shadows produce great contrast.
• Don’t avoid taking cloudy day photo — I just shake my head when I hear travelers put their camera away on cloudy days. Cloudy overcast skies are great for photographing close-ups of people. The diffused illumination softens their facial features. The colors of flowers are often more vivid under gray skies. Dark angry skies can help you make fantastic landscapes.
• Don’t let your spouse be just a dot in her photo at the Grand Canyon — You’ve got to decide what the real subject of your photo is when you document “You were there.” All too often your real subject is too far away. If you’re taking a photo of a person, remember, they are the subject of the photo, not the background. A tip you might want to follow for this type of photo is to use the “Rule of Thirds.” Put your subject in the right or left third of the photo. That way you’ll get a great photo of the person, and the background will still stand out too.

By Request: What do I do before my first photo of the day?

This article is most applicable for those using digital single lens reflex cameras (DSLR), but if you're using a Point and Shoot camera, or a film SLR camera, there are many relevant ideas in the article which apply to your camera too.

Before I use my DSLR, during a trip, or otherwise, I assume its settings are incorrect for the first shot of the day. I go through a 11 point checklist before I start each day's shooting, when I travel, or anytime I'm taking photographs.

Before I started this procedure I can't tell you how many great photos I thought I took before realizing that my meter method was wrong causing dark photos, or my ISO was too high causing graining photos unnecessarily.

You often don't get a second chance in photography, so you've got to take advantage of your opportunities when you get them.

Before running through the checklist, I do two additional things. The evening before, I recharge my camera's batteries (I use a vertical grip on my camera which uses two rechargeable batteries.) as well as my spare batteries. Next, I check my camera's sensor, to see if it's grimy, and clean it, if necessary. Don't wait to the last minute to check your sensor. Cleaning can take time. Moreover, since it's possible to damage your sensor during cleaning, you don't want rush the process.

When traveling I always take my cleaning kit. Zoom lenses draw air into DSLRs when the are zoomed in and out. Some dirt and dust is in the air almost everywhere. When you change lenses on a DSLR, even if you take precautions, dirt and dust can enter the camera and lodge on the sensor. Take my word for it, if you use a DSLR long enough, eventually your sensor will get dirty. That dirt will show up on your photos, and while you can normally "fix" the photo, you're better off eliminating the need to fix it.

My cleaning kit consists of:

• A Sensor Loupe which enables me to easily see any dirt and dust on the sensor.
• A Giotto Rocket hand air blower which is the first device I use to clean the sensor.
  
• An Arctic Butterfly brush which is the second item I use to clean the sensor, when necessary.
• The correct size Sensor Swabs and Eclipse cleaning solution which I use to clean hard to remove grime on the sensor. I follow the general procedures of the Copper Hill Method of sensor cleaning when using these products.
  

Most of the time, just using the Giotto Rocket will take care of loose dirt or dust. During a trip, I check out my photos on my laptop nightly, not just to see the photos themselves, but to see if I have a grime problem.

With a clean sensor, and fully charged batteries, I'm just about ready for the day's shooting, but before I start, I have to make sure I didn't leave the camera set strangely when last used. That might even be the prior evening. Here's my checklist for my Nikon D200:

1. My Nikon DSLR has 4 available groups of custom settings. I make sure that I have set the camera to the group I want to use.
2. I set the ISO setting to that desired, which is usually 100.
3. I set the White Balance to the setting appropriate for current conditions.
4. I double check that the image quality, size, and file type are correct.
5. I make sure that the camera mode (aperture priority, shutter priority, manual, programmed auto) is set appropriately. I typically use aperture priority. I never use auto.
   
6. I make sure that the metering method (3D color matrix, center weighted, spot) is set properly. I normally use 3D color matrix.
7. I make sure that my exposure compensation setting (used to alter camera's suggested exposure according to conditions) is appropriate.
8. I make sure that my auto focus (AF) area mode (single area, dynamic area, group dynamic, closest to subject priority) is set to the desired mode, which is generally group dynamic. I never use closest to subject priority mode.
9. I make sure that the focus mode (single, continuous, manual) is set as desired. Most of the time I set it to single. On some DSLR/SLR lenses you must also set the focus mode, as it can override the camera setting.
10. Many of my lenses have Vibration Reduction (VR). Some cameras use Image Stabilization. Both attempt to automatically compensate for camera shake. I make sure my lens VR settings are as desired. For example, the VR on my Nikkor 18mm-200mm lens can be turned on or off as desired, and either set to normal or active mode.
11. Finally, I make sure my shooting mode (single frame, continuous low, continuous high, self timer) is set properly. Most of the time, it's set to single frame. For sports it's often set to one of the two continuous modes, so I can just hold the shutter release button down, and let it continuously take up to 5 photos per second.
    

Your camera may use different terminology, and have different settings, but I think you can easily use this checklist to develop your own.

Have a great trip and take lots of wonderful photos.

Brrrr! 8 secrets for mastering travel photography in cold weather

According to Frostbite Falls denizens, Rocky and Bullwinkle, cold weather vacations are the best. The mountains are more majestic, the snowy plains look new and fresh, and the icy waterfalls are studies of frozen motion.

There are tremendous photographic opportunities while traveling in cold-weather destinations. But there are also challenges you must overcome to bring home photographic travel memories from places like Montreal and Reykjavik.

10 travel photography to-do’s before you depart

After your plane has landed on Baltra Island, while waiting for the zodiac to take you to your boat, you see sea lions lounging on the dock. You pull out your camera, press the “on” button, and nothing happens. You forgot to charge the battery.

Aboard the boat, while your battery charges, you miss great shots of whales while traveling to North Seymour. Five days later, all your memory chips are filled, but you have two more days left on the cruise, and you haven’t even been to see those Giant Galapagos Tortoises in the highlands of Santa Cruz Island yet.

I can’t tell you how often these and other lapses in trip preparation plague travelers.

Whether you use a Digital Point and Shoot (DPS) camera in “automatic,” or an advanced Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) camera, you still need to plan and prepare to take photographs while traveling. Travel photographs become keepsakes and can refresh extraordinary memories, so don’t let a lack of a little preparation stop you from saving those memories. Here are ten preparation tips for anyone who takes photographs while traveling:

1. Determine your photo storage requirements. You definitely need enough memory cards to store each day’s photos, so you can keep shooting without worrying about running out of space. If you have a portable hard drive which can directly upload memory card images, such as a Hyperdrive Colorspace, or a laptop computer, you can upload your photos each evening and reuse your memory cards after formatting them. If not, since memory cards can be expensive, and difficult or impossible to find while traveling, I recommend bringing enough cards with you to store all your photos for your entire trip. Some locations have “photo kiosks” you can use to write your photos to CDs, or you may be able to upload your photos at an Internet café to a photo sharing website while traveling, but you can’t depend on their availability, hence my recommendation.
2. If you don’t have one, purchase a spare battery for your camera. It can take several hours to charge a digital camera battery. You don’t want to loose a single “perfect photo” opportunity while your battery charges. Charge both batteries just before you leave on your trip, and don’t forget to bring your battery charger with you.
3. Make sure your charger will work wherever you’re traveling. Most digital camera battery chargers can handle voltages from 100-240V, so they will work the world over. Unfortunately, the electrical outlets where you’re traveling may be different from those at home. You can determine if you need to purchase an adapter for your charger’s plug, online, at sites such as Magellan’s Travel Supplies, where you can also purchase the adapters.
4. Know your gear. I can’t emphasize this one enough. Digital cameras today are packed with great features, and even if you use your DPS in “automatic” there are some camera functions you should know how to control. For example, many museums permit photography, but not with a flash. You need to know how to turn your flash on and off, and for portraits you should know how to turn on the “red eye” setting. You need to know how to format memory cards in your camera after you’ve uploaded your photos, to clear the cards and refresh them. You need to be able to set your focus mode or turn on image stabilization, if your DPS has these features. DSLR cameras have even more to learn. You should familiarize yourself with all your camera’s features to get the most out of it possible.
5. Well before you leave, test your camera. Last week, a good friend left on a 10-day pilgrimage to see the Apparitions of Lourdes, La Salette, and Laus in France. Just before he was to leave, he pulled out his camera, which he hadn’t used in months, and found it was broken. He borrowed a replacement. You may not have a “loaner” available to you, so test your camera far enough ahead of time that you could replace or repair it in time for your trip.
6. Before you leave, make sure you have a well-padded camera bag that is sized right for your camera and accessories. Your equipment should fit snugly, and be easy to organize and access. You need this to protect your equipment from vibration and shock which can occur while traveling. Last fall while in Paris, near the Eiffel Tower, I was accidentally pushed into a railing. My bag protected my lenses beautifully, so I could keep using them on the trip.
7. Pack your camera (and all your valuables for that matter) in your carry-on, not in your checked-in luggage. You don’t want to arrive at your destination, only to open your luggage to find your camera stolen or broken, plus airlines exempt themselves from liability due to theft or damage of valuables, including cameras, in your checked-in luggage. And did you ever watch baggage handlers in action?
8. Once you set your itinerary, consider doing some photographic planning. Look for specific photographic opportunities among your destinations. Photographers talk about the “golden hours” with good reason. The light quality around dawn and dusk is warm, golden, and casts great shadows. Research your itinerary, and if you have to, get out of bed early or eat dinner late to catch the golden hours. Don’t forget those incredible sunset photos everyone loves. Here’s a good site to help you determine the time of sunrise and sunset.
9. Before you travel, study your destinations and the customs of its peoples. You don’t want to offend anyone or run afoul of laws. Many people do not like being photographed, and in some Islamic countries, photographing women is forbidden.
10. Be prepared for bad weather on your trip. Moisture can be deadly for digital cameras. It isn’t worth it to take chances while you travel. The simple precaution of carrying a polythene bag to protect your gear, if necessary, can save your camera and those precious memories you’re trying to keep. Some camera bags come with their own rain covers. I have an inexpensive, but highly effective, commercial rain cover for my camera, which allows me to shoot in the rain. If you’re near the sea, or on a cruise, take care to protect your gear from salt spray and the salt air.

Enjoy your trip!