Category Archives: camera

Insect Photography for Identification

Someone asked on Facebook for suggestions for insect photography for identification purposes. I usually try to take more artistic shots, but I take ID shots as well since I want to know what I shot when possible. For the ID shots, shoot from multiple sides, top and sides for sure, underside if possible. Try to […]

Eclipse Camera Damage

LensRentals.com wrote an article on lenses and cameras ruined by customers shooting the eclipse with no filter. Melted shutters, iris, and sensors. I shot the eclipse through a lens from eclipse glasses which turned out fine this time. I put a cap on the lens between shots to cut down on heat just in case. […]

Lightroom Exports Are Too Dark

I just upgraded to Windows 10 and found Lightroom exported my photo much darker than it appeared inside Lightroom. I first thought this was a problem with color spaces (sRGB vs Adobe RGB, etc.). It turned out Windows 10 had recognized my monitor and installed a Color Profile for more optimal image. But I would […]

Venus LOWA 60mm f2.8 Macro Lens and Kuangren KX-800 Twin Flash

When I first heard about the Venus macro lens that can go from infinity focus to 2:1 magnification, I wanted it, but it didn’t seem real and I forgot about it. After I saw Thomas Shahan’s video review and comments by other insect photographers, I ordered it. It is available in several different mounts. I […]

ELPH Techniques

Shooting fast moving subjects without motion blur is a challenge. You need to get a fast shutter speed. Since it isn’t possible to set the shutter speed on the Canon ELPH cameras, I needed to figure out how to force a fast speed. I tried a bunch of that shot with flash first but that […]

Cosina 100mm F3.5 Macro

The Cosina 100mm is a pretty decent starter macro lens with good sharpness. You may also find the lens branded as Vivitar or Phoenix. But to get actual 1:1 magnification, it comes with a matched adapter. 1:1 isn’t always necessary, but its certainly good for anything smaller than a butterfly. While using the adapter, you […]

Canon Powershot S5 IS

I am pretty excited about my new Canon Powershot S5 IS. Since it is so new and there are few reviews of it around I thought I should post my “review.” If you skipped the S3 waiting for a big improvement like I did, this might be what you have waited for. But it is […]

Remove Flickr Comment Image Invites

On Flickr, a common thing to do is invite or award images you like to groups you belong to. Some people don’t like these images cluttering up their photo’s comments. I don’t particularly like lots of image invites and awards either, but if you don’t submit your photos to the aggressive award/invite groups you don’t […]

Flickr Hosting Email Image Spams

I found a Flickr user’s photostream full of those odd text images that have been popular in spam lately. At first I thought it was some project to collect the images for some antispam purpose. Then I thought it must be a spammer hosting his images on Flickr. Then I realized what had happened. Flickr […]

Canon PowerShot SD800

In addition to my Canon S2 IS, I have been using the Canon PowerShot SD800 since October. Carrying around a pocket sized camera is so much more convenient. I never thought I would buy a camera with less than 6x zoom, the SD800 has 3.8x. It also starts at 28mm instead of the usual so […]