What is the best Canon lens for portrait photography?

As I have been working toward adding a portrait aspect to my current photography efforts, I have been spending some quality time reading about portrait lenses. According to my research, the following Canon lenses are excellent choices for portrait photography:

• The 70-200mm f/2.8L IS
• The EF 85mm f/1.8 USM
• The EF 50mm f/1.4 USM

What do you think? What is your favorite Canon portrait lens?

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Keep track of your equipment

If you don’t already keep a list of your equipment serial numbers, there is no time to start like the present! Use a simple spreadsheet to keep track of your camera bodies, lenses, flashes, etc. In case of fire or theft, you will have a record of your equipment. Better yet, include a picture of each item in your list. Don’t forget to keep a copy of your spreadsheet in a secondary location!

Technorati Tags: serial number, equipment, photography, insurance

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You Can’t Shoot If You Don’t Have Your Camera…

Ever decide to leave the camera bag, DSLR, lenses, tripod, flash, and accessories at home rather than pack them for that quick trip to wherever? Did you regret that decision after recognizing a number of great images that you could have made if you had your gear along? If this has happened to you, you might consider investing in a quality point and shoot.

I will argue that a point and shoot camera holds a prime spot in your photo arsenal. Point and shoots are easy to pack and carry, so you never have to leave it behind. Moreover, some of the new point and shoot cameras are capable of producing professional quality images. For example, take the Canon G9. The G9 boasts an impressive set of specs including the following:

• 12.1 megapixel CCD
• ISO range of 80-1600
• 6X optical zoom, 4X digital zoom
• Macro focusing to 0.39 inches
• Several shooting modes, including manual
• RAW file format capability

For the serious amateur in particular, the RAW image format is a highly useful feature. RAW images from the G9 can be cropped, post-processed as necessary, and submitted to stock agencies just as the images from a DSLR.

You can find a great review of the Canon G9 at Digital Photography Review.

Technorati Tags: Canon, G9, point and shoot, camera, photography

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The Wolverine FlashPac

I recently returned from a trip to Alaska. Prior to the trip, I decided that it would be a good idea to have a means of not only emptying my compact flash cards, but also backing up my images. I knew that I would have my laptop along, but was looking for an additional (and somewhat more portable) solution. After researching my options, I chose the Wolverine FlashPac 7160 160 GB portable digital pictures and data storage unit.

The FlashPac appears to be well built and it performed well on the trip. I was able to easily download images (RAW) from my 8 GB compact flash cards and 2 GB SD card. I then had the option of downloading the images from the cards or the FlashPac onto my laptop. It turned out that I didn’t need to use the FlashPac “in the field” (because I also thought it would be a good idea to have plenty of CF cards along for the trip); however, while downloading images at the end of the day I did notice that the file transfer rate is rather slow. My suggestion for field use is to have a second CF card formatted and ready to use in the camera while the first card is downloading to the FlashPac.

Technorati Tags: digital storage, FlashPac

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