At the PMA (Photo Marketing Association Annual Show), going on now at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Canon recently announced the new Digital Rebel XSi. You can get the full specifications and press release over at dpreview.com.

I know that there are many of you that have purchased previous versions of the Canon Digital Rebel series, and continue to purchase updated models in the Rebel series as features are added. The Rebel series has some excellent cameras in the lineup, often coming very close in feature sets found in Canon’s prosumer line of cameras, the xxD series (i.e. 20D, 30D, 40D).

So if you’ve been sticking to Canon’s Digital Rebel line of digital cameras, upgrading year after year, Canon has a message for you in the new XSi. Stop, and upgrade to the xxD series. Two feature changes in the XSi signal this message to me. The first is that Canon has once again, changed the battery type; and second they have changed the media type from compact flash (CF) to secure digital (SD). This will be a frustrating upgrade for current Digital Rebel users, since it would involve buying new spare batteries, a new battery grip, and new memory cards. All of that adds up quickly. Compare this to the more stable xxD line where the battery grip has changed little through three models (20D, 30D, and 40D) and the batteries and compact flash cards have remained the same since at least the 10D. So current Digital Rebel users this is probably not the camera upgrade for you.

Many people have always thought of the Digital Rebel line as the lite version of the xxD line. But the XSi’s new features put it more along the lines of a step up for those who have point and shoot digital cameras that want to upgrade to a digital SLR. Now the XSi will accept the same memory cards that your point and shoot digital camera uses. This was a smart move that will probably continue to drive more point and shoot users over to a digital SLR.

The disappointment regarding the XSi was that current Digital Rebel owners really wanted a lower priced 40D in the form of the XSi. The XSi did inherit some features from the 40D, but none that would really threaten 40D sales. Instead, it’s clear that Canon has targeted the Digital Rebel series as a step up from a digital point and shoot.

Here are my thoughts on some of the XSi’s features:

12.2 Megapixel CMOS sensor - Canon is playing the megapixel catch-up race here. They have not increased the sensor size, just added more pixels. The result is going to be more noise in the image.

3.5 frames per second - Good enough if you’re upgrading form a point and shoot, but misses the mark if you’ve been using a digital SLR for a while now. Canon has all of that 20D and 30D technology sitting around that they should be able to recycle at a lower cost. This camera should have had at least 4.5 to 5 frames per second.

9-point wide-area AF system with f/2.8 cross-type centre point - This is the AF system that was on the 20D, 5D, and 30D, It is not the one from the 40D.

DIGIC III image processor - The DIGIC III, has been found in nearly every camera model Canon has made over the past year, including point-and-shoots. The Digital Rebel seems to be the last model to get this feature. The Xti should have had it years ago. You do get 14-bit which is good for recovering shadows and HDR. The other stuff like highlight-tone-priority are really JPEG only features that can be replicated with any good RAW processing software.

Fully compatible with all Canon EF and EF-S lenses and EX-series Speedlites - Oddly, Nikon can't claim the same thing about their system. The low end D40 isn't compatible with all Nikon lenses.

There are two features that Canon should have added to the Rebel that would have made it a real competitor to the other entry level DSLRs. The first should have been a high resolution LCD. The larger LCDs that Canon uses have the same pixel counts as the old smaller LCDs. The larger LCDs only make the images look fuzzier and doesn't help you see if you've taken a blurred shot or not. The second should have been an HDMI port so that you can view your images on a High-Definition TV.

Where to purchase:

Canon Rebel XSi 12MP Digital SLR Camera
Canon EOS 40D 10.1MP Digital SLR Camera

Labels: 20D, 300D, 40D, Cameras, HDR, Rebel, XSi

There is one sure way to improve your photography skills and that is to continuously practice by taking lots and lots of pictures. This is especially true for wildlife photography, because you can only hone those skills through practice.

When you first start out in this hobby, you’ll probably be snapping photos of anything that moves. You’ll probably be holding down that shutter button in hopes of getting one good image out of a sequence. That’s good. Get it out of your system. You may get a few good images that way, and even a couple of outstanding ones, but you won’t be able to do it consistently. It’s only when you start to take your time and pay attention to the exposure, lighting, and composition of the shot that you will begin to take good photographs on a consistent basis.

When I first read about wildlife photographers composing images I thought that they were off their rocker. After all, you don’t have a lot of time to get an image of that otter crossing the canal bank. That’s where the practice comes in. Go out and shoot and shoot and shoot. Get 10,000 images of that Tri-colored heron. Then one day you’re going to see a Tri-colored heron and just do nothing. You’ve already worked it out in your head that any image you take of this particular Tri-colored heron isn’t going to be any better than the 10,000 you already have in your library. You’ve just composed your first image by not taking that shot.

Composition is not necessarily about placing the subject exactly where you want within the frame. In fact in many cases in wildlife photography, the action is happening so fast that you won’t have time to compose an image the way a traditional landscape photographer does. Instead you’ll compose by positioning yourself in a location where you’ll get the best light, with the best background. If the action is fast and furious, by all means take what you can get, but if time permits take the time to make sure that your camera settings are correct. Check your histogram for exposure; recompose if there are distracting elements in the frame. Composition in wildlife photography is more about knowing when to take the picture and when not to.

The next time you see that Tri-colored heron, you’ll know if the shot is worth taking. It will be well lit, properly exposed, with a nicely blurred background with the bird’s eye looking at the camera while it is holding a frog in its mouth. Okay, that may be a bit of a stretch, but it’s certainly something to strive for. You’ll only get there through practice.

You can see some of my weekly “practice” shots in the December gallery.

Labels: Cameras, Technique

It’s the holidays and you’re probably thinking about next camera related item that Santa will be bringing you this year. However, more than likely you’re thinking about what you’re going to get for yourself this year, because Santa can’t really afford photography gear; after all, those reindeer are not cheap to feed. Whether you’re just starting out, or are a full blown professional, there is always that point where you realize that you’re not getting the results you want and that more and better equipment will alleviate this problem. Not to mention that every book and blog you read mentions loads of camera gear that you will “need” to produce great photos. In nature photography this tends to be a relatively fast high megapixel digital SLR camera and a professional telephoto lens. This, I’m afraid to tell you is true. The better your equipment, the better your results are likely to be.

Alright, I’ve either just convinced you that photography is too expensive for you or that you should place that pre-order for the Canon 800mm f/5.6 L IS USM lens. If you are the former group, don’t be discouraged; if you are in the latter group then you probably have enough spare cash to buy one for me too. The key to keeping your costs low is to learn how to use the equipment you already have and take pictures of things that your camera lens and body are suitable for. In other words learn the limits of your equipment and work within them. If you only have an 18 – 55mm lens, you’re not going to take too many images of wildlife; instead you’ll need to work with captive and friendly subjects, or landscapes, or even portraits and events. When you’re ready, step up to the next item that will give you the results you want. If you want to get images of birds in flight, then consider a fixed focal length (prime) lens that is 400mm or more. Don’t get too bogged down in trying to make the most out of your money by purchasing something that you can use for more than one type of photography. Often what you will end up with is too much of a compromise where it doesn’t do either type of photography very well. Get equipment for specific tasks, and concentrate on taking images that the lens was designed for. You’ll make your money go a lot further by buying the specialized equipment one at a time.

Next get creative. I’m not much of a DIY person, but some tricks are so easy, you’ll kick yourself for not trying them. Want to take some Macro shots and don’t have a ring flash? Use an inexpensive diffuser to bounce the light from your external flash onto your subject. You can find many tricks like that one by reading other sites about photography, not just nature photography. One of the best is strobist.blogspot.com.

Finally all that fancy camera equipment will only take your photography so far. As with anything, if you want to succeed, you need to practice, practice, and practice! I hope that the holidays are good to you this year.

Labels: Cameras, Lenses

Hello everyone. This is a quick update to let you know that I'm having a lot of fun with my new Canon EOS 40D. It's not leaps and bounds better than the 20D, but a worthwhile upgrade nonetheless. I will post my experiences with the 40D in upcomming web log posts as I become more familiar with the camera's strenghts and weaknesses. In the meantime the September gallery is now open, and I have posted two follow up articles regarding flight photography. The first is on the use of "Manual exposure for flight photography" and the second is on "Tracking birds in flight". I hope you enjoy them.

Labels: 40D, Articles, Cameras

You can find all the information about the new Canon EOS 40D, my next camera, at DPreview.com. The Canon 1Ds Mark III was also announced at the same time. Nikon also announced new cameras this week, including the D300 and the D3. It looks like a good year for camera owners. Canon's new lenses are the EF 14mm f/2.8L II USM, EF-S 18-55mm IS, and EF-S 55-250mm IS. Nikon has the AF-S 14-24mm F2.8G ED, AF-S 24-70mm F2.8G ED, AF-S 400mm F2.8G ED VR, AF-S 500 mm F4G ED VR, and the AF-S 600 mm F4G ED VR.

It's important to remember that when making a buying decision that you are purchasing a system, and not just a camera. Whether you choose Nikon or Canon, you will be using their system of lenses and accessories for a long time. Switching systems can be very costly.

Labels: 40D, Cameras, Lenses

August! So many things happen in August for me. My daughter’s birthday is in August. My wedding anniversary is in August. School starts in August. Of course Canon makes new camera announcements in August. So, will there be a new Canon 40D that will be announced in August? Only time will tell, but there is enormous speculation on the forums, especially dpreview.com. I’m hoping that a 40D will be announced because I really need a new camera. I’ve outgrown the 20D, and I can’t afford any of the professional bodies in the 1D series. My 20D is back at Canon service again, because it was recently infested with ants. That’s right, ants. I use the camera at least every weekend if not more often, so it wasn’t sitting in some dark corner of the house. Anyway, theories for the infestation range from having taken too many macro shots of insects to taking way too many “sweet shots”. In reality, very small ants like sugar ants and moisture ants are attracted to electronics. They will colonize computers and other electronic devices, especially in very hot and humid places. I’ve read some accounts on line about ants being a problem in the tropics. I’m not sure exactly how the ants got into the camera itself, but when I took out my camera from my camera bag to get shots of a Snail Kite; literally thousands of ants started crawling out of it. Most of them were hiding out in the pop-up flash, but they were all over the place. The battery grip and the LCD all had ants crawling around them. I shook and blew off as many of them as possible. The camera still worked and took some great images that day, but there were dead ants still stuck inside the camera. To prevent any damage from the decomposition of the dead ants or their eggs, it’s off to Canon for a cleaning.

Around the end of July and the beginning of August the farms around Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge begin planting for the fall. This is a great time to visit them as the wading birds and the Snail Kites are attracted to the area as the soil is prepared for planting. This past weekend we were able to observe Wood Storks, Egrets, Herons, Spoonbills, and Snail Kites at very close proximities just outside the gates of Loxahatchee. Inside the refuge itself there was little bird activity, but there was plenty of insect activity with butterflies and bees going about their business. Enjoy the August gallery.

Labels: 20D, 40D, ants, Birds, Cameras, Loxahatchee, Snail Kite

Another of the questions I am often asked is why I chose Canon equipment over that of other brands. I’ve given that question more thought recently and the answer, I’ve concluded, is advertising. When I was much younger, my first experience with an SLR camera was with my dad’s Asahi Pentax Spotmatic. It was pretty much completely manual, but its ability to use interchangeable lenses for specific purposes always fascinated me. Growing up, and getting to see different parts of the world, my interest in animals and nature grew. We had a subscription to National Geographic Magazine and a whole slew of back issues that we kept in our library. I would constantly go through all the issues looking for stories about wildlife, and dream of being able to travel the world to get similar stories and images. Not every issue was about wildlife, but you could always count on an advertisement from Canon to feature a new species. The advertisements were titled “Wildlife as Canon sees it”. Each magazine had a different advertisement that highlighted one Canon’s long white telephoto lenses that was used to capture a spectacular image of a rare species.

When I started working part-time and made enough money to afford an SLR camera of my own, I knew that Canon was the brand that I wanted. A trip down to the local Service Merchandise also revealed that Canon made one of the most affordable SLRs, the EOS Rebel. Like many would be photographers I had delusions of grandeur when I got my first SLR. I quickly found out that it was not easy to get those spectacular shots; at least not with the EF 28-80mm lens that the camera came with. So I invested in a telephoto zoom lens the EF 75-300mm lens and a Speedlite 200E. They made things a little better, but not by much, as my reach was still limited. Despite the limitations, I enjoyed using the EOS Rebel and decided that it would take wonderful pictures during a trip to Costa Rica. I was excited because I was finally on a trip to an exotic locale with a camera in tow. The camera performed well enough, although my shooting skills were less than spectacular at the time. A week or so later, the EOS Rebel started acting funny and the EF 28-80mm lens wouldn’t work at all. This was my first lesson that travel photography requires good equipment. It seems that moisture had made its way into the camera and lens from the high humidity of the Costa Rican rainforest. The camera could be repaired, but the lens could not. A week and a few hundred dollars later I walked out of the camera store with a new EOS 28-80mm lens and a repaired EOS Rebel. I put the camera away and didn’t touch it again for quite some time.

The digital camera revolution took place and once again I was intrigued by the new digital SLR technology. So what brand do I purchase? Well, Canon of course. Justifying that I can still use my almost new 28-80mm lens and 70-300mm zoom, I would once again become a great wildlife photographer.

So, why Canon? For the advertising. In addition to the ads in National Geographic magazine, Canon also sponsored one of my favorite shows on PBS, Nature. So Canon, to me, was synonymous with great wildlife photography. Speaking of which, one of the shows I’ve been enjoying lately on PBS (WLRN) are repeats of Travels to the Edge with Art Wolfe. It’s also sponsored by Canon.

Labels: Cameras

Since the release of the new Canon EOS-1D Mark III camera, I've been reading complaints regarding its autofocus system. In particular, its ability to track moving subjects in AI Servo mode. I first saw these complaints on Naturescapes.net, but they have been popping up more and more on different photography web sites. Now, Rob Galbraith has written a comprehensive article on the autofocus issues that many users seem to be having with the 1D Mark III.

I'm not lucky enough to be able to afford a Canon 1D Mark III, but if you are, you should contact Canon if you are experiencing problems with the autofocus system. The more people report the issue, the more attention Canon will give it.

Labels: Cameras