» Fro Knows Photo Blog
Sigma 50mm F1.4 Art Lens: Is It Worth $950
Since Sigma announced the 50mm F1.4 DG HSM Art Lens people have been toughing it as the sharpest thing since sliced bread, not that sliced bread is sharp. The major question in my mind is wether or not a 50mm lens is worth almost $1,000.
The Nikon 50mm F1.4 clocks in at only $439 with the Canon F1.4 being $399. This new signma on the other hand is more than double the price of these other 50mm’s. It really is hard to wrap your head around the price difference but is the quality there.
As soon as AllensCamera.com got in their first copy they gave me a call to come in to unbox and sniff the lens. This is a mini review of sorts with sample images only, not real world shooting situations. As you know I like to really test my gear in the real world opposed to shooting charts and test images. In this case I set up some very simple shots which give me the ability to let you pixel peep all you would like at my files.
Click Here to download four DNG Files (70 megs).
Click Here for the FULL RES Jpeg exports.
First things first, this lens is built extremely well. It feels great in the hands and does not remind you of the lower end Sigma glass. Sigma has spent the last two years focusing on upping their game. Stepping up not just the quality of their products but the quality control.
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You Don’t Just Have “Experience” You “Specialize”: It’s All About Perception
If you would like a 14 day FREE TRAIL of Squarespace please CLICK HERE. If you decide that it is a good fit for you after the trial don’t forget to use the code “FRO” to get 10% OFF your first order. If you sign up for a full year your cost will be roughly $8 a month which is pretty sweet.
I am jumping back into the Rapid Fire Squarspace critiques again after taking a few weeks off. This week I selected Glen Riley’s website to critique.
One of my favorite sections to read on photographers website’s is the “about me” section. The reason is it gives me a good look into the confidence level of the photographer. In this case the about me section was pretty good but one word stood out to me over all the rest.
Glen wrote that he has “experience” in xy and z. But to me the word experience could give people a little bit of hesitation. I say that because experience means you have done it where as specialize means you own it.
When you specialize in something it makes you seem like you are the expert or you have a lot of experience. So much of what we do revolves around the perception we create. You have heard me talk about this time and time again. How people perceive you as a photographer can make the difference between getting the job and not.
Now on to the rest of the website. I still have a little bit of hesitation every time I see a black background website. It comes across as dark, dead, dry and the images seem not to pop as much. On the flip site white seems like it’s alive and your images really pop. Of course this is personal preference and just how I feel about those sites when I see them.
When you go down the left side of the page you see a lot of travel type images. I would like to see those put into their own drop down menu to make that side of the page cleaner. The stories are strong so wrapping them into a category will make the site flow much nicer.
I would like to see one 20 image portfolio that showcase the best of the best travel work that glen has. This way if someone looks at just his main portfolio of images it will leave a great impression.
All and all the website is simple and with a few minor tweaks it will be even better.
If you would like a 14 day FREE TRAIL of Squarespace please CLICK HERE. If you decide that it is a good fit for you after the trial don’t forget to use the code “FRO” to get 10% OFF your first order. If you sign up for a full year your cost will be roughly $8 a month which is pretty sweet.
How Would You Edit This 200 Person Group Photo In Adobe Lightroom
CLICK HERE to download the RAW FILE.
After my Google Meetup in Israel which saw 200+ readers show up I wanted to capture a group photo. Lucky for me Benjamin Von Wong was on the trip with us and is a master at figuring out how to light in difficult situations.
Ben spent the better part of an hour trying to figure out how he was going to capture such a large group photo. I put my full faith in him to figure it out and he knocked it out of the park.
He used the large windows running across the front of the building as fill light. He set up two of his Broncolor’s, one bouncing into the ceiling from the front and the BIG ONE in the center of the photo behind my head. His idea was to have me stand up on some thing and have the big flash light up the Fro from the back.
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The Truth about Photography: Telling It Like It Is At Google Israel
While I was in Israel I had the pleasure of speaking at Google to over 200 Fro Readers who came out to listen to me speak.
As many of you know I am not a fan of power points or rehearsed speeches and that’s why my Google Meetup was one big Q and A session. The questions that were asked were very solid. It’s always questions that help trigger a deeper discussion in my brain. Because the questions were quality I was able to expand on them and get as much information out as possible.
I was truly humbled by the fact that 200+ people in Israel think highly enough about me to take time away from their schedule to hear me speak. There is no better feeling than to stand in front of you guys and give my all to help. Thank you for those who were able to make it and for those who were not, please enjoy the session.
Click Here to download the RAW File of this photo.
Photo concept and lighting setup courtesy of Benjamin Von Wong and Broncolor
Herman Miller Embody: Something To Make My Butt Feel Good
The majority of our time as photographers and videographers is spent sitting on our butts in front of the computer. So why do we buy crappy chairs that are not comfortable or enjoyable to sit in?
I know I have been using a chair from Staples that was around $200 that seems fine until you try a real chair like the Embody.
The point I am making here is we spend money on quality gear why would we skimp out when it comes to something we have to sit in close to 6 or more hours a day.
Let me tell you this chair is not inexpensive, not everyone can or would spend $1,500 on a chair, I understand that. I myself have a hard time justifying spending that much for a chair.
But what I can tell you is when you finally put your butt in the chair you understand that just about everything you have sat in before pales in comparison.
I look at Herman Miller as the Apple of chairs. They just make sense, the levers, switches and everything is where it should be and just works. And it better for for that price.
I have heard from other readers who have Herman Miller chairs and say they have had them for close to 10 years and they are still going strong.
So knowing that this chair will last me 15-20 years makes my own decision to pick one up for myself and my dad much easier.
