PhotoPlus 2016 Gadget Report–Day 3

Friday October 21 was my last day at PhotoPlus 2016, but it was a big day with lots of great products. While I can't fit them all here, I thought I'd go over some of the ones that I liked the most for consideration for future blog articles.

BlackRapid

Double-locking hook

If you think you know BlackRapid, think again, as they've updated their entire line to include big improvements in comfort and safety. As you can see from the image above, the locking mechanism across the board ensures that your gear can't come out with this double locking system.

Below is the new design for the shoulder straps that allows for better breathing and feels much lighter and comfortable in person:

BlackRapid Breathe Strap Design

Improved fasteners

Everything in the line up is improved and better, so if you've had or heard of issues with their stuff in the past (and I've only heard one which I think was user error), then it's time to look them up again.

Click here to learn more about the new BlackRapid Breathe products.

Mindshift Gear

I've been a long-time fan of ThinkTankPhoto bags so when I heard some of the same great people were going to go off and form a new company with lighter bags for hikers, I supported them on Kickstarter. I was one of the first to get and review the MindShift Gear Rotation 180°, and I still have it to this day, but it's evolving and improving as shown above.

They are also making more sizes and colors than when I last reviewed the MindShift Gear Panorama. As a result, this show was a wake up call for me that this is no longer a company that just makes a couple bags, and that I should start reviewing them more in the near future.

I loved my Digital Holster, so these lighter versions are likely to be where I start...

Nikon

The all new 70-200mm from Nikon

I already talked about the new lenses in this article, so check that out if you haven't already.

In addition to the lenses, I spent most of my time talking about the new Action Cameras.

This discussion warrants its own article, so come back later this week for more details. I've got lots of pictures and hopefully some new info so if you are as excited about these very well built cameras as I am then you'll really enjoy this article.

Epson

Epson always has the most amazing art display at PhotoPlus, and this year was no different. So many images were breath taking, but on the gear side there wasn't much new news. They did have one of the P20000 beasties which is fun to see as it's as big as a small car!

Tether Tools

I haven't caught on to the tethering fad, but the crowds around the demos by great photographers like Peter Hurley suggest that I'm the exception, and not the rule.

Peter gave an awesome demo using the Flex light panel from Westcott and showed near live results via Lightroom for this very impressive demo of studio photography in 2016.

Check out more about Tether Tools current line up here.

AquaTech

AquaTech is well known for making create underwater housings, but their rain cover looks pretty good so I might be checking that out in the near future. If you've got one and want to share feedback, then leave me a comment here. Please note that comments are approved manually due to massive bot attacks, so you only need to post once and you won't see your comment right away.

Westcott

Westcott Flex Continuous Light Source was definitely the star of PPE 2016!

It was clear at this show that Westcott wanted to make a big impression with its Flex LED mat products as they were all over the show. Either they are that good or they spent a bunch of money to create that perception, but there's no doubt that they are both very cool and worth giving a closer look. Definitely look for a review of this very promising, but very expensive, continuous light source in the future.

In case it isn't obvious, what makes these so great is that they have a ton of light in a mat that can literally roll up like a blueprint. No more bulky flashes as what you see is what you get, and they don't run hot or take up a lot of space. Perhaps the only down side is that they are so bright that having that much light in your face can be pretty annoying. Videographers are likely to love them and photographers will certainly benefit from them.

Learn more about Flex here.

RapidBox reminds me of my Elinchrom 39" Rotalux Deep OctaBox
in terms of performance, but at much friendlier price

SkyLux LED Lights aren't new, but definitely were a popular choice at several booths at the show

LUMAS Opens New York Gallery with a WhiteWall.com Showroom

I had a chance to check out the new LUMAS gallery where WhiteWall.com is the as part of a show related event for the media, and let's just say I'm a huge WhiteWall fan now. If you haven't heard of them it's because they are a major fine art print service in Germany, but they are just landing on our shore in the heart of the New York SoHo district.

As a print master, NEC Color Visionary, X-Rite Coloratti, successful eBook author on printing, and the success of my printing series certainly qualifies me as someone who knows a good print when he sees it. After touring other galleries in New York and seeing WhiteWall's best work, I can assure you there's nobody in the US printing business right now has impressed me more than they did.

I'll be talking a lot more about WhiteWall, but in the meantime you can get a discount and learn more about how much I loved my HD Metal print here.

The studio in the basement gave us an opportunity to see everything they make on all of the different media, so if you get a chance then stop by or book an appointment with them as it's very helpful in deciding what you want to do for your next print.

Other print services should take notice that it's time to up your game as no print company in the US that I've seen prints from can touch them, so prepare to lose market share from photographers who care about quality as they switch to a company that I think is the best in the business.

Conclusion

PhotoPlus New York is always a great way to see the best of what everyone in the camera business has to offer, so while it's a bit expensive to get out there it's worth the trip. I had fun getting see what's new and what's coming from my blog partners, so I can't wait to get you some fresh reviews this coming year based on what I've learned.

Other Articles You Might Enjoy

NOTE: More gadget reports to come about PhotoPlus very soon!

If you enjoyed this article, you might also enjoy these:

• PhotoPlus Expo 2016 Day 1 Gadgets Report
• PhotoPlus 2016 Gadget Report–Day 2
• Black Rapid RS-7 & RS-Sport
• GoPro HD Hero 2 Motorsports Edition
• MindShift Gear Rotation 180° - Hiking Camera Backpack
• MindShift Gear Panorama - Smaller Day Hike Backpack
• ThinkTankPhoto bag reviews & special offer
• Whitewall Metal & Acrylic Frames - Discount
• Discount Coupon Codes Page
• Printing Series 
• Ron’s Recommendations 

Disclosure

If you make a purchase using links found in this article, I may make a commission.

Pro Photo of the Week: David Rubinger Portrait by Vincent Versace

Copyright (c) Vincent Versace - All Rights Reserved
Nikon D800 160 sec at f/5, ISO 2000 at 130mm (Nikon 70-200mm f/4G ED VR)

This is another image from the unfortunately too brief "photo shoot" of the photographer David Rubinger. I had the opportunity to photograph him at Palm Beach Photographic Workshop's FotoFusion an annual week long photo instruction event.

What I can say to best describe the experience of seeing his work at the Centre's museum gallery, is that the level of the cleanness of his eye. That level of clarity of a moment  what you aspire to. I hope some day to "see" half as well as he does.

Every time We would head to the studio someone would stop him and ask him a question and then he'd answer it and tell a story that you did not want to miss hearing.... Then you were late to your next class and you were walking into a room of students wondering where the teach was.

Another thing to consider, if you are as hooked on digital Infra Red photography as I am, is that this image was captured on a D800 at 2000 ISO. The behavior of the sensor is what is extraordinarily interesting.

The noise that should be occurring at 2000 ISO on that camera prints like it was shot on super fine grain film. But digital level, not analog level (film), of sharpness. Which means they are sharper as well as exhibiting significantly better Bokeh than film.

I am not sure what that actually means, it is a new observation. I would never have thought to boost the ISO on that particular camera that high. For a lot of reasons. So as soon as my new studio goes on line this month it's something I will experiment with. I hope to do an eBook on what I have learned over the past 9 years of shooting Infra Red digitally.

Last week’s portrait is the one he liked. This is the one I liked.

Vincent Versace

Technical Details

This image was captured with a Nikon D800 modified to shoot infrared using the "Super" Enhanced Color conversion from lifepixel.com.

The image was recorded to a 128GB Lexar 1000 speed UDMA flash card.

The image was first processed in Nikon Capture NX2 then further post processed using Photoshop CC Color Efex Pro 4.0 and Silver Efex Pro 2 from the  Nik Collection by Google.

Lighting was a combination of two Westcott Skylux LED lights and a Westcott Sunlight Reflectors.

Other articles you may enjoy

If you enjoyed this article, you may also enjoy these:

• Printing Series: Vincent Versace - Digital Natural Light Photographer & Epson Stylus Pro Master Printer
• REVIEW: Welcome to Oz 2 by Vincent Versace
• REVIEW: From Oz to Kansas: Almost Every Black and White Conversion Technique Known to Man by Vincent Versace
• B&W Comparison - Nik vs onOne vs Topaz
• Which Printer Should I Buy? Epson or Canon?
• Topaz Labs B&W Effects 2
• Nikon D800 Review
• Zeiss Otus 55m f/1.4 Review
• Beyond Portraiture
• Light It, Shoot It, Retouch It
• Light, Science and Magic
• Secrets of Great Portrait Photography
• Sketching Light
• The Digital Negative

Disclosure

If you make a purchase using links found in this article, I may make a commission. It doesn’t cost you a penny more, but it does help to support future articles like this. This image was submitted upon request by Vincent Versace and used with his permission for this article.

Pro Photo of the Week: David Rubinger Portrait by Vincent Versace

Copyright (c) Vincent Versace - All Rights Reserved
Nikon D800 160 sec at f/5, ISO 2000 at 185mm (Nikon 70-200mm f/4G ED VR)

This is an digital infrared portrait of the photographer David Rubinger. I had the opportunity to photograph him at Palm Beach Photographic Workshop's FotoFusion an annual week long photo instruction event.

David was here for both the opening of his show at the at the Palm Beach Photographic Centre's Museum and Gallery "Eye of Israel" he was also being honored as the Photo Mentor of the year.

For over 60 years David has photographed Israel, from it's creation to today. He is of the nicest people I have ever met. As to getting him to sit for a "formal" photograph? Like herding cats....

Every time We would head to the studio someone would stop him and ask him a question and then he'd answer it and tell a story that you did not want to miss hearing.... Then you were late to your next class and you were walking into a room of students wondering where the teach was.

Vincent Versace

Technical Details

This image was captured with a Nikon D800 modified to shoot infrared using the "Super" Enhanced Color conversion from lifepixel.com.

The image was recorded to a 128GB Lexar 1000 speed UDMA flash card.

The image was first processed in Nikon Capture NX2 then further post processed using Photoshop CC Color Efex Pro 4.0 and Silver Efex Pro 2 from the  Nik Collection by Google.

Lighting was a combination of two Westcott Skylux LED lights and a Westcott Sunlight Reflectors.

Other articles you may enjoy

If you enjoyed this article, you may also enjoy these:

• Printing Series: Vincent Versace - Digital Natural Light Photographer & Epson Stylus Pro Master Printer
• REVIEW: Welcome to Oz 2 by Vincent Versace
• REVIEW: From Oz to Kansas: Almost Every Black and White Conversion Technique Known to Man by Vincent Versace
• B&W Comparison - Nik vs onOne vs Topaz
• Which Printer Should I Buy? Epson or Canon?
• Topaz Labs B&W Effects 2
• Nikon D800 Review
• Zeiss Otus 55m f/1.4 Review
• Beyond Portraiture
• Light It, Shoot It, Retouch It
• Light, Science and Magic
• Secrets of Great Portrait Photography
• Sketching Light
• The Digital Negative

Disclosure

If you make a purchase using links found in this article, I may make a commission. It doesn’t cost you a penny more, but it does help to support future articles like this. This image was submitted upon request by Vincent Versace and used with his permission for this article.

REVIEW: Light It, Shoot It, Retouch It by Scott Kelby

Light It, Shoot It, Retouch It: Learn Step by Step How to Go from Empty Studio to Finished Image is the latest book by Scott Kelby, and this time he’s tackling the subject of studio lighting. Like all of Scott’s other books, this one is complete with lots of pictures and great detailed instructions. For those of you who loved his 7 Point System book, and are taking on the challenge of studio lighting, you’ll find this book to be EXACTLY what you are looking for.

This book mostly focuses on using lights by Westcott and Elinchrom (like I have in my lighting setup), but at the end of the book he has a short appendix that shows how you could do the same thing with small flashes (i.e., 580EX II and SB-900). I appreciated the fact that he did that and that he tried to feature Canon cameras in addition to his Nikon cameras. It goes to show that Scott really does listen and care about his readers feedback.

I’m going to say flat out that there is no resource that I know of in print or on the internet that is as useful as this book is for learning studio lighting — especially if you own Elinchrom lights where he even tells you the power settings of the lights.What’s more, instead of cryptic stick figure lighting diagrams, he literally has an overhead shot of the shoot in action which really helps to quantify what he’s doing. Of course Scott doesn’t stop there, he has very clear gear guides and camera settings as well as a series of thumbnails of shots taken from each shoot.

After each shot is captured he shows some basic steps on how he processed the shot. Realistically I think you’ll want his Professional Portrait Retouching Techniques for Photographers using Photoshop book as well as some of the other Photoshop books I recommend.

I REALLY love this book, and wish that others like Joe McNally and Frank Doorhof would do similar books because it’s simply a fantastic learning tool. Of course, the good thing is that you can see a video version of some of the techniques discussed in this book on Kelby Training (click for review & discount). In fact, you can see Joe, Frank and many other studio lighting greats on Kelby Training, so this book and that resource make a great gift from the significant other.

More Details

Yeah baby, this is how diagrams should be done

Normally I do a chapter by chapter walkthrough of books, but in this case it doesn’t really make sense. The reason why is that each chapter follows the same template:

• Intro – You see a finished shot and a title that explains the technique.
• The Setup – This is like the picture on the right side above where you get a great overhead photo of the shot.
• Gear Guide – This is the part shown in the upper right of the shot above. This is where you see how to set your Elinchrom lights when those are used.
• Camera Settings – This is where you see what settings Scott used for the shot.
• The Post Processing – Here’s where you briefly describes how he processed the shot. Some chapters are more detailed than others, but with a good setup you really don’t need a ton of post-processing.

What’s more relevant for this book are the techniques discussed, and they are:

1. 3-Light Classic Beauty Setup
2. 2-Light Edgy Setup
3. 2-Light Dramatic Setup
4. 3-Light Lens Flare Setup
5. 1-Light Ring Flash Setup
6. 3-Light Sports Setup
7. 1-Light Full-Length Setup
8. 1-Light Home Interior Setup
9. 2-Light On-Location Fashion Setup
10. 4-Light Sports Composite Setup
11. 1-Light Dramatic Setup
12. 2-Light Beauty Setup

From there you get a “If  You Use Hot Shoe Flash Instead…” chapter that gives a setup diagram of each of the shots using small lights as well as the gear needed to get the shots. The book ends with a big gear guide to show you what Scott uses.

Here’s a shot I did recently that applies the concepts of chapter 7 using the Elinchrom 39" Rotalux Deep OctaBox instead of the larger soft box:

Using Scott’s instructions, great Elinchrom gear, and hiring an awesome model like Ericababy, you can easily get shots like this too.

Conclusion

This book rocks. I can’t stress enough how useful it is for those doing studio lighting for the first time – especially if you have Elinchrom gear (although that’s not required). I highly recommend it, and encourage you to check out the videos on Kelby Training. In addition, if you don’t own Professional Portrait Retouching Techniques for Photographers using Photoshop then you’ll want to pick that up too. Don’t believe me? Check out the sneak peek at Amazon or your local bookstore.

Click here to buy your copy and support this blog.

See Scott In Real Life

Scott is touring the US to teach the concepts from this book in real life. NAPP members get a discount and even full price cost is only $99. He’s coming to Seattle this month, so I’m hoping I’ll get a chance to check it out – come join me!

Disclosure

I may get a commission if you make a purchase using links in this article.

Westcott Green Screen Kit

I was talking to a friend today and we was telling me that Westcott offers affordable “educational kits” as part of their Photo Basics collection. Specifically, he was saying that the Photo Basics 401 uLite Digital Lighting Kit which includes the background, lights and more was only $200 bucks!  It’s available on sale at B&H, Adorama, and Amazon. Amazon also has a nice video of this kit. If you want to make masking people in Photoshop easier to use them on different backgrounds , then this is a good cost effective start for the beginner.