Equipment

Fixing a stuck focus ring on a Canon 50mm f1.4 lens

So a few months back disaster struck, I managed to break my 50mm 1.4 lens! Focus completely jammed - couldn't even manually focus. gutted. I took the lens to my local camera shop and they said they would have to send it off to Canon and it could cost up to £180! Ouch.

Having just forked out for xmas, car insurance and about a gazillion other things that wasn't a particularly inviting proposition. So in some what of a bold move I decided to take matters into my own hands.

After a quick web search it became clear that this fault is actually quite a common problem with this particular lens and is caused by an arguably dubious design choice on Canons part.
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Review: Canon 320 EX Flash

This is not a full scientific review, but mearly my own opinions based on using this flash gun for about a month, mainly for events photography.

In general I'm really pleased with  the 320ex, there are some nice little features on it, however there are also some draw backs, as you'd expect from a bit of kit that trys to do so much for such a low price.

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Making a short film with a Canon 500D

The quality of HD footage from the canon 500D is very very good, especially when shot through decent glass. However what it does lack is control and decent sound recording capabilities.

The ISO, apperture and shutter speed are all set automatically by the camera which can be quite a restriction but not at all unworkable. I was helped along in this instance because I used a lensbaby lens which has a completely manual apperture control.

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 250w hot light v's 200w/s D lite it 2 studio strobe 

I've been using 250w photoflex hotlights for the last few years for my studio fashion and portraiture work. Just recently I decided to upgrade my lighting and plunge into the world of studio strobes, my weapon of choice? - the 200w/s D lite it 2 from Elinchrom.

In this article I 'm going to explore the differences between the two and answer some of the questions I had when looking to buy studio lights.

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