With Christmas approaching we thought we do a round up of 10 of the best photography related stocking fillers out there.

Photography is an expensive hobby, and we all know Christmas time is a drain on our resources so we’ve tried to keep our selection to accessories at the cheap end of the scale.

1. A Tripod

In our opinion a tripod is one of the most useful accessories any photography can have. Whether you’re shooting sports, wildlife, landscapes or portraits there are always times when a monopod gives you the ability to shoot steadier, sharper images than hand holding shots.

Amazon price: $12.95

2. White Foam Backed Board

One of the foundations of good photography is good light. Whether you are shooting indoors or out this board is great for bouncing light around and removing shadows, softening tones or even as a makeshift neutral background.

Amazon price: $12.97.

3. Hot Shoe Bubble Level

This great little device should see an end to you correcting wonky horizons in photo shop for ever. Pop it on your DSLRs hot shoe and the 3 axis bubbles let you see when your composition is level in an instant, no matter if you’re shooting portrait, horizon.

Amazon price: $9.99.

4. Flash Diffuser

Using one of these diffusers can transform the light your flash gives off. It’s amazing what a difference these diffusers make. They’ll soften the light that hits your subject making the end shots look much more professional.

Amazon cost: $12.95.

5. Lens Blower

We discussed before how a lens blower is the best way to not only keep your lenses clean but also remove irritating dust from your cameras sensor. These blowers are exactly the sorts of things all photographers would have a good use for but few get round to buying, making them an excellent Christmas present.

Amazon price: $9.85.

6. Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson 

Before I read this book i thought that there were two types of photography books: ones with pretty pictures and insanely boring ones about the theory of photography.That was until we read Understanding Exposure.

This book was a game changer in terms of educating amateur photographers. While some of the pictures look a bit dated now (shock horror they were mainly shot with film) the way the author breaks down the key elements of exposure and explains how easy it is to capture great shots.

Amazon price: $17.52 (and worth every cent!).

7. Rechargeable AA Batteries

Anyone that uses speed lights or off camera flash will know how much money you can quickly spend on batteries. After we ran some tests earlier this year we soon found out that you can save a fortune by simply switching to rechargeable AA batteries.

Rechargeable batteries have come a long way since i first used them in the early 1990’s. So long as you buy batteries with a high mAH rating (aim for 2400 or above) they should provide just as much charge as disposables.

Amazon price: $13.33

8. More Memory!

As DSLR cameras increasingly offer more mega pixels and higher resolution images the demand for large memory cards keeps increasing for photographers. Add to that the fact  that virtually all prosumer level DSLRs now shoot HD quality video and having large amounts of spare memory storage is crucial.

The good news is that memory cards just keep getting cheaper and cheaper. You can now pick up a 16gb Transend SD card for under $20.

Amazon price: $19.99

9. The Digital Photography Book by Scott Kelby

Scott Kelby’s The Digital Photography Book is perhaps the biggest selling digital photography book of all time. The main idea of this book is to share the tricks of the trade used by professional photographer day in and day out. Placing less focus on theory it instead tells you what settings to use when – practical advise with the sole intention of getting the reader taking better photographs.

There’s not too much detail (a good ting) with each page dedicated to a different technique, trick of skill. This fantastic format makes this book a real page turner.

Amazon price: $13.99

10. A Film Camera

We’ve written before here on DSLRGuru about how refreshing and good for your photography shooting with a film camera can be. While we recommended the Lomo LCA it isn’t the cheapest option by a long way.

A far cheaper, yet equally fun and exciting way of experimenting with shooting film is with a Holga medium format camera.

Amazon price: $29.99

So there it is, a selection of 10 great accessories that any photography would be happy to receive on Christmas morning. Have we missed anything? If so let us know using the comment box below.

Previously here on Digital SLR Guru we’ve waxed lyrical about both Canon’s 50mm f1.8 and the f1.4 lenses. In our review of the f1.4 version and the original f1.8 review we discussed a few of the advantages but we never really did a full comparison of the two lenses. In this article we’ll compare the lenses side by side with the aim of making it easier for you to pick between them.

Ok, so here are what we see as the key differences between these two 50mm lenses.

Now let’s take a look at some of these areas in more detail.

Build Quality

Read any review of the Canon 50mm f1.8 and you’ll come across references to the cheap build quality. Sure the f1.8 is made almost entirely of plastic (apart from the glass elements obviously) and feels cheap, almost toy like don’t let this deceive you. It still takes pin sharp pictures, the crappy build quality is the reason that Canon manages to keep the price so damn low.

As you can see above the f1.8 weighs a meager 130 grams, amazingly light for a lens capable of producing some stunning images. At such a cheap price point (just over $100 at the time of writing) it really is remarkable value considering the quality of images it produces.

While the f1.8 is almost entirely plastic the f1.4 gives you a metal mount, rubber focus ring and much more sturdy feel. This all adds up and the f1.4 weighs in at more than double the f1.8 at 290grams.

Sharpness

One of the reasons I’m such a big fan of 50mm lenses is they just seem so sharp. I have used both of these lenses extensively for the last few years and have to conclude that there is very little to choose in terms of sharpness.

Both lenses are said to be a little bit soft when wide open but as with all lenses this is to be expected. Stop down a couple of f-stops and they are both razor sharp. That said, the portrait shot below was taken with the 50 mm f1.8 wide open at f1.8 and in my opinion it is about as sharp as sharp is!!!

While the f1.8 might take a little longer to focus  (more on that later), but when it does it is as sharp to the f1.4 as you can see in the above shot.

Bokeh

One of the things that I love about both of these lenses is the bokeh that the large apertures produce, particularly when shooting at night with lights in the background.

The f1.8 version of this lens has only five aperture blades versus the 8 in the f1.4 version. What this means is the bokeh produced is not as smooth with the f1.8. As you can see in the photo above the bokeh of the Christmas tree lights appears as a pentagon (the photograph was shot wide open at f1.8).

The same shot taken with the f1.4 would have had a more rounded bokeh as it would have been an octagon shape but slightly rounded as f1.8 is not wide open on the f1.4 lens.

Focusing

This is one area where these two little 50mm lenses vary quite a bit. The f1.4 version comes with a ‘micro USM motor’. USM stands for Ultrasonic Motor and is Canon’s advanced focus motor technology. What does this mean? Well it means USM lenses like the f1.4 focus much faster and quieter than lenses with Canon’s standard micro motor found on the f1.8.

The micro-motor USM mechanism found in the f1.4 is one step down from the ring-type USM found on some of Canon’s more expensive lenses (mainly the L-series professional range), the difference being it doesn’t have ‘full time manual  functionality. This means you can’t manually over ride the auto focus at any point – in order to manual focus you need to switch from auto to manual focus using the switch on the lens barrel. While nice to have ring-type focusing isn’t essential and is only really relevant if you like to focus manually a lot of the time.

In addition the focus ring on the f1.8 50mm is not in the middle of the barrel casing as with most other lenses but is instead right on the end of the barrel as shown in the photo below. This takes some getting used to and can easily lead to fingers appearing in the edge of shots when you manually focus. In addition to this, the focus ring on the f1.8 is made from hard plastic as opposed to the soft, grippy rubber on the f1.4.

image by mayhem

All in all the focus mechanism of the f1.4 lens is much better than that of the f1.8. The f1.8 can hunt around a bit in low light and is quite noisy when doing so. If you’re into manual focusing then you’ll definitely want to opt for the f1.4 as the f1.8 really is designed mainly for auto focus work. Even when manual focusing the f1.4 offers a nice smooth resistance and much more professional feel than the f1.8.

Aperture

The best thing about these lenses for me is the big aperture they offer. Once you start shooting with one of these 50mm lenses you’ll discover how much better your pictures are when you don’t use the on-board flash on your DSLR.

I tend to shoot a lot indoors, at night time in low light so it was a revolution when i started shooting at apertures of around 1.8.

Obviously the f1.8 gives you an additional f-stop compared to the f1.8 meaning that when it is wide open it can soak up twice as much light as the f1.8. Unless you shoot indoors a lot you may not really need the additional stop.

The above shot of the candles was taken hand held in the darkest corner of a bar with the 50mm f1.4, (shot at f1.4) and an ISO of only 800.  The ability of these lenses to shoot like this in the darkest of conditions is their most attractive feature to me.

Key Differences

* Build quality
* USM versus micro motor
* f/1.4 versus f/1.8
* More aperture blades (8 vs 5)
* Slightly better optics in the f/1.4
* Cost!
*Position of Focus Ring

1.4 vs 1.8 Summary

Despite owning quite a few L series lenses I have to admit that my 50mm f1.4 is the lens that is attached to my camera about 80% of the time. Both the f1.8 and f1.4 lenses are great. The image quality if very similar between the two however the f1.4 excels in a couple of areas;

• Far superior build quality

• Quicker and faster focusing

• Softer, richer bokeh

In our opinion ether of these lenses will serve you equally well and both represent great value for money when compared to other lenses in Canon’s range. However if you can afford it we’d recommend you go for the f1.4 version. If you buy the f1.8 you’ll probably fall in love with it and end up upgrading to the f1.4 version anyway like I did!

Check out the latest prices of both the 50mm lenses on Amazon.

A while ago we looked at the infamous monopod vs tripod debate, in fact it is one of our most read articles here on Digital SLR Guru. As a follow on, we’ve decided to take a look at some of the most popular monopods currently available and compare and contrast their benefits.

Before buying a monopod you’ll need to consider what your main uses of it will be. As with buying many photography accessories there are the usual trade offs between cost, performance, size and weight to consider. Below we’ve tried to pick the best three monopods available at three different price points.

Entry Level – Dolica WT-1003

The Dolica WT-1003 monopod is aimed exactly at the budget end of the market. Designed to be ultra light weight (it weighs just under 400 grams) and is built from an aluminum alloy. Initially on sale for about $35, you can now pick them up on Amazon for under $20.

Upon picking this monopod up we were immediately impressed by the build quality. It certainly feels better quality than the low price point would indicate. When fully extended, the four telescopic sections reach about 1.6 meters in length and it stands on the ground securely with the help of the rubber foot.

In the box you get a little carry case for the monopod which is useful to avoid scratching other gear in a tightly packed camera bag. The handle is foam covered and has a handy wrist strap which proves useful as a safety device in case you let go by accident.

The big drawback of this pod compared to some of the higher end models we’ve looked at is the lack of adjustable head. As a result changing the composition of your shot involves either adjusting the extension height or tilting the monopod at an angle. As a result we often found ourselves either leaning slightly off balance (not great for avoiding camera shake) or compromising on composition.

If you’re looking for a cheap but effective monopod then with the current discounts this really is a great choice that provides exceptional value.

Mid Range – Manfrotto 682B

This nice little monopod from the ubiquitous Manfrotto is aimed squarely at the middle market. If you are looking for some basic functionality with great build quality that will last for year then this  Manfrotto 682B might be what you are looking for. In fact I’ve got a friend that is still using the older version of this monopod nearly 10 years after he bought it.

The 3 sections (as opposed to the 4 on the Dolica) mean there is greater stability and more of a solid feel than the Dolica, weighing in at 1.1kg.

Extension ranges from 70cm to 1.7 meters providing more than enough height for most situations. Extra stability is added by the 3 flip down legs that lock into place. These little legs don’t look like they offer much but they offer a resistance point against which you can apply a very light pressure in order to maintain a rock steady position, helping you to avoid camera shake and benefit from sharper images.

The one downside we could find is that the little tripod legs rattle against the main stem when folded up though this could be easily resolved by adding some Velcro or rubber pads to the feet.

This is by far the best sub $100 monopod available at the minute. If you’ve spent hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on your SLR and lenses then it seems a shame to scrimp on a cheap monopod. The 682B is a great starting point at under $100.

The Top End – Manfrotto 561 BHDV-1 Monopod

This is certainly not the cheapest monopod out there but the Manfrotto 561 BHDV-1 is a truly professional quality monopod. With most newer DSLRs now having the ability to shoot full HD video it is becoming increasingly important to maintain a steady frame.

Like the Dolica there are 4 leg sections though there much thicker on the Manfrotto. Weighing in at 1.9kg this monopod feels and behaves like a truly professional piece of kit. Fully extended you get a full 2 meters of pod to play with while fully closed it is a fraction over 75cm.

Where this pod really comes in to it’s own is the swivel head. The integrated bubble spirit level provide a useful reference point while the fluid tilt mechanism moves through a range from -60 to 90 degrees. What this means is you can easily and effortless achieve the slow, smooth pans that are required for professional looking video shots. Extra stability is provided by the 3 flip down feet at the base of the monopod.

This is perhaps the best monopod for weddings or other situations where you’re shooting a mixture of stills and video. As you’d expect it provides the panning capabilities of a high end tripod with the flexibility and portability of a monopod.

Retailing at a bit over $250 this is a serious bit of kit for serious photographers. While it may seem a lot for a monopod, the superior image quality you can achieve from a pod like this (especially if you’re shooting video) is well worth the extra investment. Check out the latest prices on Amazon…

I’ve written in previous reviews how much I love prime lenses (particular both the 50mm f1.8 and f1.4 primes) both for their image quality and fantastic value for money. Having said this there is no denying the flexibility that a mid range zoom adds to your camera bag. In this review we’ll take a look at perhaps the most iconic, reliable and robust mid length zoom out there, the Canon 24-70mm f2.8 L.

It is often said that this lens is the work horse of the both press and wedding photographers. It is standard issue kit for most press photographers thanks to it’s great picture quality and robust build quality and reliability. As a result the 24-70mm is a great everyday lens, and a must have item for the camera bag of any serious enthusiasts.

image credit

Canon introduced the 24-70mm f2.8 L to it’s professional series of lenses as a direct replacement of the 28-70mm L lens that dominated this part of the professional mid range zoom market for well over 10 years.  Improvements were made all round and included a faster auto focus, better image quality and improve weather proofing.

Build Quality of the 24-70mm L lens

The first thing to note about this lens is its hefty weight – it tips the scale at 950g. Compared to the other lenses i’ve been using in this focal range (my 50mm prime and the 18-55mm kit lens) this lens weights a whole lot more. The superior build and image quality are however well worth the extra weight. In fact the extra weight makes the lens feel a lot more solid and professional. In addition i beleive the weight makes it easier to hold steady while shooting which in turn helps avoid motion blur, particularly when shooting at slow shutter speeds.

The 24-70mm is equipped with Canon’s severe weather condition sealing, ensuring it is dust proof and resistant high humidity. I’ve had my copy out in many rain showers and dare i say it beaches (why did i risk that?!) and have never had any issues.

The metal mount ring ensures a secure bond with your cameras body and despite its weight feels very secure when attached.

To highlight the build quality, I have a friend that has dropped his 24-70mm a couple of times (on to a stone floor) and despite a bit of superficial damage it continues to work perfectly. This lens is built to last many many years of heavy use – I’ve not come across a tougher feeling lens in this range.

The on-board USM motor means the 24-70mm focuses very fast and quietly. As with most of the high end Canon lenses the focusing is internal meaning the front element doesn’t move when  focusing.

The barrel of the lens extends out when it is zoomed back at 24mm and retracts in when zooming out to 70mm. This is the opposite of the Nikon equivalent lenses and seems a bit counter intuitive at first.

Image Quality of the 24-70mm f2.8 L

This is perhaps the sharpest zoom lens there is. Even wide open at f2.8 the lens produces tack sharp results in the center and even round the edges there is only the faintest hint of softness at the wider end of the focal range.

Perhaps my favourite thing about this lens (apart form its flexibility) is the bokeh it produces. Backgrounds aren’t just blurred out but seem to take on an almost swirly creamy quality that i just love.

The colors the 24-70 reproduces are rich and accurate. There is hardly any chromatic aberration to speak of and the saturation and contrast are spot on.

I’ve tried hard to find fault with the images my 24-70mm produces but i really can’t. Accurate colors, tack sharp throughout the range, little to no distortion, it really is all good.

Canon 24-70mm Uses

As mentioned in the intro, this is a very flexible lens. It is one of those lenses that you’ll always have in your camera bag and will always get use from.

I’ve used mine for a wide range of things in the past from landscapes, portraits, sports photography, weddings and holiday shooting. The great focal range and consistent performance throughout means that I can always rely on this lens for really sharp images not matter what or where I am shooting.

While I usually tend to use my 24-70mm for portraits, this lens is equally happy out in the field or at home in the studio.

With a minimum focus distance of 0.38m you can get nice and close to your subject, nearly achieving a 1:1 that you’d expect from a macro lens. The result is that you can take great close ups and still get sharp results. The ability to do this merely increases the flexibility and usefulness of this lens.

At 24mm this lens offers quite a wide angle of view, particularly if used on one of Canon’s full frame body cameras. While it won’t compete with a dedicated wide angle lens you can get great results while shooting landscapes – just make sure you have your tripod or monopod to help keep it steady.

Downsides of the 24-70mm

There really are not many downsides to this lens. In fact the only real down side I can think of is the weight of this lens. While it may be too heavy for your average tourist to carry round all day while on holiday, if you are serious about your photography then the weight will not be an issue at all. The superior image quality produced by the 24-70 more than makes up for it’s bulky size and heavy weight.

Some people point out that this lens lacks Canons Image Stabilization (IS) functionality. In my opinion there is no need to IS on a lens of this focal range. The only real time i think it could be useful is if you are shooting at 70mm in very low light conditions. While there have been rumors of an IS being developed I think these are pure speculation. If you want to shoot in low light at 70mm then you should be looking at going prime or opting for the fantastic 70-200mm f2.8 IS L.

Summary

The best all round mid range zoom there is…period. It gives razor sharp results with great colours and saturation. The f2.8 aperture allows you to keep shooting in all but the dimmest lighting conditions. There are currently some great deals on this lens over at Amazon.

The only real downside about this lens is the weight. Then again if you want a pro level lens weight is always going to be the pay off to excellent optics.

Having recently bought a 15″ MacBookPro I decided to try and buy a decent sleeve to protect it when traveling. I was not after a laptop bag, just a protective sleeve that would protect my MacBook and allow me to carry it around in my camera bag. After one false start, and reading a lot of reviews i settled on the Incase MacBookPro 15″ Sleeve.

The main reason I chose this sleeve over others is that most sleeves on the market are designed to fit all 15″ laptops. As a result they are usually 16″ meaning your MacBookPro rattles around inside a sleeve that is way too big for it. Infact prior to buying the Incase I bought a Logik sleeve that was way too big for my MacBook so I took it straight back for a refund!

The Incase on the other hand is custom designed to fit the MacBook pro which means it is exactly the right size. The design is plain and simple, no exterior pockets, no carry handles, no bells and whistles. It has obviously been designed to do just two things: fit a MacBookPro perfectly and protect it well. It does both of these superbly.

The main walls are thin neoprene on the outside which feel reassuringly protective, especially compared to other sleeves i’ve used in the past.. The edges are tough in order to protect the most vulnerable part of any laptop when in transit (the edges) while also being perforated to add ventilation.

Inside the sleeve of the Incase there is a great faux fur lining that is very soft and comforting to your macbook’s casing. This lining would be at home in the most comfortable pair of slippers so it is more than adequate for a MaBookPro! The inside of the zips are padded to avoid any scratching of the casing while the zippers themselves seem tough and coated in rubber to avoid any scratching when taking the MacBook out of the sleeve – a nice little detail.

This isn’t the cheapest laptop sleeve on the market (or the most expensive) however in my opinion it is well worth the money. If you’ve gone out and spent all that money on a nice shiny MacBookPro then spending a few more bucks (about $130 at the time of writing) to protect it well is definitely worth it and the Incase Neoprene MacBook Sleeve is one of the best choices you could make.

Canon recently announced the new Canon EOS Rebel T2i (550D) as the latest addition to its range. The T2i is widely seen as a replacement for the Canon EOS Rebel T1i (500D) which was only released in 2009. IT continues the trend by dslr manufacturers to pack more of the features and technologies of professional cameras into the consumer end products.

In this post we’ll take a look at the key features of this new addition to the Canon range.

18Mp CMOS Sensor & Improved DIGIC 4 processor

This size of sensor take a big leap on from the 12.2MP that was in the 450d. This new sensor from Canon means you have the ability to be able to crop images much more without losing quality/size. Printing large posters or prints becomes much easier. Perhaps the best advantage this new sensor brings is the improved low light performance thanks to the DIGIC 4 sensor.

ISO Performance

ISO performance is always a key benchmark to look for in new cameras. The 550D’s ISO range  will be 100-6400 and expandable up to 12800. This huge range (along with the enhanced on board noise reduction) means much better performance in low light conditions. In addition you can set the maximum ISO to use if you are shooting in auto ISO mode.

Full HD Video Capture

Since it’s introduction on the Canon 5d Mk II Canon has gradually been adding this functionality onto it’s new models. The 550D will record full 1920 x 1080p HD resolution video at  up to 30fps, much better than the sometimes jerky 20fps on the Canon EOS Rebel T1i (500D) it replaces.

Drop down to 720p and you can shoot at up to 60 fps. Also a nice feature is the ability to plug in an external mic, enabling you to capture the best possible sound. The camera also has an HDMI connection allowing you to playback photos or video on an HDTV with minimal fuss.

Another nice addition is the movie crop feature. This allows you to shoot video using only the center part of the sensor, magnifying you subjects by about 7 times! This is perfect for when your subjects are a long way away and you can’t change to a telephoto lens.

LCD Display

As you’d expect the LCD display on the 550D is bigger and brighter than ever. Measuring 7.7cm it boasts a 3:2 ratio allowing you to preview your shots in the true ratio. The 1040k resolution screen displays  vivid colors making previewing your shots on camera a pleasure.

Additional Usability

One great little feature is the new “Q” button on the back that allows you to access the quick control screen which contains your most used controls. A simple but very slick addition.

This camera follows in the footsteps of the 7D and allows you up to 5 stops up or down of exposure compensation, great for making sure you get the perfect exposure and simply awesome for the HDR lover!

Another great addition is the compatibility with Eye-Fi memory cards. Replace one of your regular SD cards with and Eye-Fi card and you can transfer pictures from camera to computer directly using wifi, no need for any leads whatsoever, you don’t even need to remove your card from your camera.

Available for less that $800 on Amazon this camera is sure to be a hit.

I’ve been thinking recently about what makes a good photography book. I would classify very few as being really good. However every now and them one comes along that seems to open up a new door in your progression as a photographer.  Hot Shots: Make Every Shot Your Best by Kevin Meredith is definitely one of these books.

Kevin Meredith, the author of Hot Shots, is more familiar to many by his flickr id ‘lomokev‘. For a few years now he has been building a loyal base of photographic admirers on the site. In fact he is one of a growing number of photographers that have managed to turn their flickr popularity into a commercial business.

His alias lomokev stems from his love for Lomo LCA cameras, something that is very evident when flicking through his latest Hot Shots book or his flickr photostream. If you are not familiar with Lomo cameras take a look at our article on them here. Kevin’s photography is all about the subject matter, lighting and composition. He is a master of the lomography style of photography.

Every double spread in Hot Shots features a photo on one side accompanied by text on the other explaining the technique used, the story behind the shot as well as the odd invaluable tip or nugget of advice from Kevin.

The great thing about this book (and Kevin’s style of photography) is that much of it is done using a relatively simple zone focusing, 35 mm film camera. As a result there is much more focus on the other aspects of photography that we are all guilty of neglecting such as subject selection, composition, perspective, attention to lighting etc.

If you are a digital shooter it doesn’t matter that over half of the images in the book are shot using film, in fact it is probably a good thing. When you see the stunning results Kevin achieves with such a ‘low tech’ camera, and learn exactly how he captures these images you suddenly realize that you are probably guilty of over complicating things with your digital shooting technique.

What this book taught  me was that i often spent so much time worrying about getting my exposure just right, not blowing out the highlights, adjusting the white balance, obsessing about shutter speeds etc that I neglected some of the fundamentals. By refocusing more of my thought process on the choice of subject and composition I have witnessed a definite improvement in my photography.

While Hot Shots may not appeal to the most digitally centric photographers out there it really is a must read book for all photographers. In terms of refocusing you on the basics and re-invigorating your approach to photography this is a must have book. Check out the latest prices on Amazon.

I recently spent $40 on a great little device that has transformed my external hard drive into a wireless network drive. My ever expanding collection of electronic gadgets has meant the tangled mess of wires in my home is growing bigger by the day. Here is how I’ve started to cut the wires from my life….

The Problem I Had

I have an ever expanding collection of media: photographs (mainly in RAW format), music, video etc. Recently it became un-manageable storing all of this data on my laptop as I was quickly running out of space.

I recently decided to move all of my media onto and external hard drive, freeing up some much needed space on my laptop. Doing this meant I was able to keep all of my content in one place and also made a considerable improvement to the performance of my laptop.

image by stuant63

The problem I was left with was that every time I wanted to access any of my media (including my photographs) I had to plug in my external hard drive to my laptop. This meant I was constantly moving the external hard drive around (as i work in different parts of the house), spending lots of time fiddling around with power cables and usb leads to the laptop.

The Solution

I wanted to find a way to make my external hard drive wireless so I could leave it in one place and access the content from anywhere in my home, with any laptop or computer. After a bit of digging around and searching the net I eventually found a cheap, easy to use solution: The Addonic NAS Adapter.
This is a small device that allows you to connect any USB device (in my case my external hard drive) to your wireless broadband router. The device then becomes available to access over your home wireless network. This means that I can now access any of the files on my external hard drive via a wireless connection, via multiple laptops or computers.

I simply leave the hard drive plugged in to my wireless broadband router and can access my files on it from any computer or laptop in my house, from any room.

Installing the NAS Adaptor was very simple. The device came with some easy to follow instructions and i also found a very clear step by step set up guide here.

It uses little power and also has the ability to sleep/wake up my external hard drive during periods of inactivity. Although it is early days I can’t really find anything negative to say about this device.

In addition the NAS Adapter to this core functionality the Addonics has many other features i’ve not played with including:

- The ability to let other external devices such as an XBOX 360 or Nintendo Wii access your files (great for watching video files)
- The ability to act as a FTP server meaning you can potentially access your files on your external drive from anywhere in the world with an internet connection
- You can control which users on your network have access to which directories (read/write access)
- You can use the device as a printer server (attach any usb printer to your wireless network)

There are various other ways to connect an external hard drive to a wireless network but they are all a lot more expensive than this great little device. It is easy to install, has a low power consumption, allows me to access all of my photographs (and other media) via wireless from anywhere in my home. It has turned by external drive into a wireless external hard drive! For about $40 this thing is a bargain.

We’ve written a lot on Digital SLR Guru about the Canon 50mm f1.8 lens. In fact for about two years it was my go to lens that rarely got taken off my camera. All this changed however when I decided to upgrade to it’s older brother the Canon EF f1.4 50mm….

Differences between the 50mm f1.8 and f1.4?

Well the obvious and main difference between these two lenses is the extra f stop you get with the f1.4 version. If like me you tend to shoot indoors a lot (in poor light conditions) having that extra stop will make a big difference.

On top of the extra f stop the f1.4 has everything that the f1.8 gets criticised for not having;

• Faster & Less Noisy USM Focus Motor
• Solid All Round Build Quality
• Usable Manual Focus Ring
• Metal Mount Ring

In our review of the 50mm f1.8 we dismissed these features as worth sacrificing for the wonderful image quality. Well the 50mm gives you both the image quality plus all of the above.

Build Quality

One of the main criticisms levelled at the 50mm f1.8 is the cheap, plastic build quality. For the price and image quality of the f1.8 this can be forgiven in our opinion. The 50mm f1.4 on the other hand is build much more like the rest of Canons range of lenses. The f1.4 feels like a “proper lens”, one that is built to last and one that belongs on your expensive digital slr, and will last for many years to come.

The f1.8 version was often accused of feeling like a toy, this f1.4 version doesn’t have the same problem. The f1.4 is built using much more robust materials, including a solid metal mount ring. Overall when mounted on the camera this version feels much more balanced with the weight of you slr.

Usability

One of the big advantages of the f1.4 is the fast ad quiet USM motor that powers the auto focus. The 50mm f1.8 often tended to hunt about for focus in very low light. With the 1.4 this is much less of a problem with focusing being much faster and quieter.

The USM Focus on the 50mm f1.4 lens is impressive

The focus ring on the f1.4 is on the middle of the lens barrel (like most other Canon lenses) and has a smooth action allowing fine adjustments by using the ridged rubber grip. This is much better than the barely usable end mounted ring on the f1.8 that made manual focus virtually impossible.

Unlike the f1.8, the f1.4 comes with a focus distance window, again very useful for manual focusing. Also this lens incorporates manual override feature allowing you to over ride the autofocus by simply twisting the focus ring.

Image Quality of the 50mm f1.4

The image quality if very similar to the f1.8 version in out tests. Unless you look very closely it is very hard to detect much improvement in the quality of images the two lenses produce.

You may expect to see a massive improvement baring in mind this lens costs over twice the price of the f1.8 however most of the extra money goes on the features discussed above. It just proves that the f1.8 was built with only image quality in mind, at the expense of everything else!

The 50mm f1.4 is a great portrait lens…

What this lens does is excel in low light. The extra f stop and USM focus motor mean sharp shots i very low light are possible. The shot blow was hand held at f1.4 on a very low light street.

50mm f1.4 Low Light Performance

The quality of images is still great even for a lens at this price. Colours are vivid and the lens is tack sharp about a stop and a half from maximum aperture.

Another benefit of this lens over the f1.8 is the bokeh it produces. The f1.4 has an 8 blade aperture (compared to 6 in the f1.8) which gives it a softer, more rounded bokeh effect when shooting at big apertures.

Summary

Whether you choose the 50mm f1.8 or the f1.4 version will depend both on your budget and expected use required from a 50mm lens.

If like me you are regularly shoot in poor light (and like to avoid using the flash) we’d recommend you opt for the 50mm f1.4. The big aperture of this lens allows you to shoot fast shutter speeds using lower ISOs.

Don’t get us wrong the f1.8 is a great lens however we feel the better build quality, extra f stop and faster/quieter USM focus motor make the f1.4 a better long term purchase.

Click here to check out the latest prices of the Canon 50mm f1.4 lens.

In case you need clarification that this is a mantra often heard but rarely stuck to by all photographers The Best Camera Is The One That’s With You: iPhone Photography by Chase Jarvis is a great example.

It is a book that contains over 200 photographs taken by Chase with just his iPhone camera and effects created by various iPhone apps.

This book was put together by the talented photographer and artist Chase Jarvis in order to illustrate the imagery possible by a simple low resolution camera found in the hugely popular iPhone. The iPhones camera is often derided for for producing poor quality images, having too low a resolution and not being a zilion mega pixels (the smart phone industry seems obsessed by mega pixels as opposed to lens quality).

The point made by Jarvis in this book is really well illustrated with some amazing images. In many of the books frames he uses the Iphone camera’s point of weakness to his advantage. Much as a high ISO can be used to produce that classic grainy film noir look, Jarvis uses the low resolution and camera shake to great effect in some of the images.

The book itself is small, compact and full of great images. This book is not a ‘how to shoot great pictures with a crappy iPhone camera’ kind of book. Instead it is one that will get your creativity stirred and will motivate you to get out there, shoot more pictures an be less reliant on only shooting with big expensive cameras and lenses that cost thousands of dollars.

Click here to read more about this book .