Deleted all your pictures?

Written by Ciaran Oliver Friday, 07 January 2011 10:02

How to recover deleted photos form a chip?

The first thing to do is to stop shooting and mark the card that you have deleted the images from. Second thing don’t panic they aren’t deleted from the chip! Even if you have re-formatted the chip and the camera and your computer can’t see any images on the chip they are there, as long as you stop shooting.

I won’t bore you with the technical aspects of why but it’s all to do with the FAT file. In layman’s terms there is a small file that tells the computer or camera that the chip is empty but in fact it just means you are about to start writing on top of the photos that are still there. The chip just starts writing until it’s full up.

The only thing you need to do is get a small piece of software, I use Sandisk rescue pro. It was cheap as chips and works really well. So when you do find yourself in that sticky moment, make sure you have this piece of software, life saver!

Sandisk

Fixed Lens?

Written by Ciaran Oliver Thursday, 30 December 2010 20:49

Fixed Lenses verses Zooms…

Fixed is the short answer in my book, although I do use zooms for a lot of the time. In an ideal world you’d have all the lenses you could afford, and more to the point all the lenses you could carry! Anyone who has carried a large lens for any significant amount of time will know that, glass is heavy! So only ever carry what you need. For me this usually means 3 lenses max.

For my Nikon DX kit I carry a 35mm f2.8 a 17-55mm 2.8 and a 70-200mm 2.8 and that’s me done. If I’m using the FX kit a 24mm 50mm and the 70-200mm. I carry, one or other kit in a case with wheels, because you should never trust a photographer who doesn’t have a bad back! I’m not going to bore you with bags and cases because that’s a whole other world that photographers seem obsessed with.

The advantage of a fixed lens is the speed and sharpness compared to zoom lenses. The advantage of zooms is that you have one lens to carry and can cover a lot of focal lengths. I use zooms for events, weddings and fast moving subjects like kids and cars. I use fixed lenses for when I have more time with the subject and when quality can’t be compromised. Having said that the new f2.8 zooms lenses from Cannon and Nikon are quite remarkable.

The other thing to remember when buying lenses is what your camera can do with the ISO settings. ISO is the cameras ‘film speed’ or sensitivity to light, the higher end cameras can take pictures in near darkness. Crank up the ISO on your camera and see how much ‘noise’ there is in the shadow areas. If you have a cheapish camera you need the most expensive lenses and it goes back to my argument that you should always spend your money on lenses not boxes!

Body or Lens?

Written by Ciaran Oliver Tuesday, 21 December 2010 23:08

Body or Lens?

Let’s talk about lenses; spend all your money on lenses. There I said it. Honestly if your in the market to buy a camera, save yourself as much money as you can and buy some decent lenses, they will last you a life time and you can sell them for over half of what you paid for them.

I have always brought f2.8 Nikon lenses and I have never lost money in the long run. Same works for Canon and Mamiya lenses I have owned. Buy the best quality lenses you can lay your grubby little hands on.

Instead of buying the latest Nikon or Canon get a decent set of lenses. A 24mm a 50mm and a 70-200mm. Job done. Oh and there is a gap between 50 and 70mm, just walk forward with the 50mm, simplicity.

Don’t get suckered in to bigger and better, keep it simple, it’s all the glass.

Per hour PR Photography

Written by Ciaran Oliver Thursday, 16 December 2010 11:21

The photographic industry changes every couple of years there is a shift in the way we do business and down here in chilly Kent it’s no different. So I’m suggesting that if you are a local enterprise looking for decent PR shots then I’m available to produce them for £60 per hour. You get me and all my years of experience and my super duper equipment, you end up with a disc of images, low res for web & email, high res for printing.

Don’t be fooled by stock images, the blandness and generic nature will show in the end, why don’t we all just be a bit more original in our thinking and actions? Give me a call and I’d be happy and willing to help with all your photo needs. 07984 940 799.