TWiP #158 – Presets or Purists

On this episode of TWiP, a Franken iPhone camera emerges, we discuss the role presets play in photography, and Skynet comes to point and shoot cameras.

Hosts: Frederick Van Johnson, Steve Simon, Aaron Mahler, and Joseph Linaschke

Frankencamera for the iPhone
Someone has developed a prototype of a special mount for the iPhone that will allow you to attach a dSLR lens to your iPhone. The group discuss the usefulness of such a thing and whether or not something like this will take off and become popular.

Presets: A Starting Point or Training Wheels?
This week, Frederick, Aaron, Joseph, and Steve discuss the role of presets in photography. Frederick raises the question of whether presets are just a springboard to creating images or are they diluting the fact that you're supposed to craft an image from the ground up? Joseph feels that presets can be large time savers to help speed up production but ideally they should be used as starting points or else everyone's photographs start to look the same.

Do you use presets as the end game or as a starting point when working on your photos? Be sure to visit the forums to discuss this topic with other TWiP listeners.

Sony Unveils Cyber-Shot DSC-WX5, DSC-TX9 and DSC-T99 Digital Cameras
Sony is releasing a series of new P&S cameras with many great features that are creeping into the dSLR space. New features include things like increasing dynamic range by shooting multiple photos and merging them in camera, 3D sweeping panoramas, background focus blur, etc. What will this mean for the future of photography?

LISTENER Q&A

Question 1: Morten Scheel says: I love making panoramas but I haven't found a great solution for sharing them online. What do you guys recommend in terms of file format and online hosting? Any nugget of wisdom you can share on creating panoramas would be much appreciated.

Aaron: Take a look at gigapan.org which is the hosting site and creator for the Gigapan device. The panos that you create do not need to originate with their hardware or software. If you have a blog or other site then you could look at QuickTime VRs.

Question 2: David from Sheffield writes: Way back you did an episode on Ron Brinkmann's bag. Any chance of doing something similar with yourselves or your guests? It would be interesting to see what pro's consider essential – and how much can be fitted into a carry on!

Frederick: Yes, we do plan on doing more videos in the future now that we have launched the new website so stay tuned for further updates.

Question 3: Vintagepremoon says: I bought a 50D about 3 months ago and the other day I was shooting some sample product shots using the live function and the camera completely froze up. I turned it off and back on same thing. It randomly fired twice each time firing the flash. I was in manual mode in a cool environment although I had been shooting for 2 hrs at that point. Camera did not feel hot. I finally pulled the battery and let the camera sit for 30 min. Installed the battery again and it was fine. Have any of you 50D guys experienced this issue?

Joseph: I have seen a similar issue with the 5D Mark II when shooting tethered or in Live View. The sensor is likely heating and the camera is shutting down to protect itself. Steve hasn't been shooting in Live View much but likes the Zacuto and Hoodman products.

PICKS OF THE WEEK

• Joseph: Black Rapid RS 5 camera strap & the Camera Slingers dual strap for times when you're carrying two bodies
• Aaron: Gigapan Epic Pro
• Steve: New York Times blog called ‘Lens' and one of Steve's former students has a project featured called The Urban Cave
• Frederick: Understanding Photoshop CS5: The Essential Techniques for Imaging Professionals from Richard Harrington

PHOTO MISSION
We are reviving the weekly photo mission. Each week we will challenge you photographically so be sure to visit the forums, share your photo, receive recognition on the show, and maybe even win a prize. This week's mission is “Dirt”.

TWiP iPHONE APPLICATION

TWiP now has it's very own iPhone application. It's the best way to keep up with TWiP on your iPhone. Head on over the iTunes store to download the new TWiP application.

WRAP UP

Be sure to join our Flickr group and our Facebook group.

Frederick Van Johnson – www.frederickvan.com or www.twitter.com/frederickvan

Steve Simon – www.stevesimonphoto.com or www.twitter.com/stevesimon

Aaron Mahler – www.halfpress.com or www.twitter.com/halfpress

Joseph Linaschke – www.apertureexpert.com or www.twitter.com/travel_junkie or www.photojoseph.com

CREDITS

TWiP is sponsored by Audible.com, the leading provider in spoken word entertainment. Audible has over 75,000 titles to choose from to be downloaded and played back anywhere. Visit Audiblepodcast.com/twip for a free audiobook of your choice. This week's pick from Aaron is Skinny Dip by Carl Hiaasen.

Show notes by Bruce Clarke at www.momentsindigital.com or www.twitter.com/bruceclarke

Producer: Suzanne Llewellyn

Bandwidth provided by Cachefly. Intro Music by Scott Cannizzaro