Equipment
I am often asked about the equipment I use, specifically cameras. I like to travel as light as possible. In recent years I’ve shot with the highest resolution pro digital camera offered by Canon: a 1DS, 1DS Mk 2, and now 1DS Mk 3, a 21-megapixel brick of technology. The pro body is almost impervious to rain, snow, and dust, which is why I prefer it to the cheaper 5D Mk2, despite its HD video and low noise capabilities.
I limit myself to a few lenses most of the time, all Canon. More than half of my images are shot with either the 16-35f 2.8 Mk2 or the 70-200 f4, which is just as sharp as the much heavier and more expensive 2.8 version. If I need a more powerful telephoto, I reach for the 400 DO; if I know I’ll be shooting a lot of wildlife, the 500 f4 comes along. That’s it for 90% of my work.
I still need the usual complement of small, rugged La Cie drives and a Lenovo laptop optimized for photographers (review to follow). A few flashes and reflectors make their way into the kit as well.
Cameras are just tools, though. Cartier Bresson shot The Decisive Moment with a Leica rangefinder and a 50mm lens. It is the eye that matters, and the will to get off the couch and shoot.
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November 11th, 2010 at 07:11
Hi Art,
Two questions, what would you say is the number one mistake you see photographers consistently make and I don’t believe in manufacturing light or manipulate photography with software but I like to shoot raw and use the canon software that came with my 1DS to touch up and convert to JPEG. That particular software has limitations though, is there better software I could use. I apologize if someone has already asked the question, but I did not see it posted.
Thank you.
November 15th, 2010 at 14:21
Hi Michael,
The best software for converting and mastering images is Adobe Lightroom 3 and Photoshop CS5 Extended. Both are available at http://www.adobe.com. And the largest mistake that Art sees photographers make is failure in creating a compelling composition. He always tells workshop students to hit me over the head with your subject, never leave me guessing. Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Jay G.
February 14th, 2011 at 15:56
I know that Art does some light painting at times. What does he use? I’ve tried with different flash lights, but can never get the correct lighting to make it work good. Thanks.
February 14th, 2011 at 16:39
Nothing more than your basic flashlight that you carry in your backpack. You may have to experiment with a few exposures to get the amount of fill you want.
February 15th, 2011 at 10:20
Hi,
Just a quick question. When you are shooting at apertures smaller than f/11k isn’t diffraction a problem. I have shot at f/22 and the results weren’t the greatest. Same image shot at f/8-f/11 was sharp, but the depth of field wasn’t there.
I shoot my landscapes on a Mamiya AF645 film camera. I want go digital for lanscapes, but have heard about the diffraction problem.
Thanks,
Andrew
February 17th, 2011 at 12:08
Andrew-
Diffraction is a problem with most 35mm lenses at f/22 but the reality is that if you need the extra depth-of-field you go with it. The loss of sharpness with new digital cameras is negligible compared to the film days. If you need f/22, you add a bit more sharpening to compensate on final output. I haven’t noticed much of an issue with the new lenses I have up to f/16 which covers most photographic situations. Since you are used to medium format you might want to look at something like the Canon 17mm tilt/shift lens. It is one of the sharpest pieces of glass on the market and the tilt ability will allow you to keep f/stops to a more middle ground and achieve extra long f/22 results. What matters most is the subject and the composition. If you succeed there, a little bit of diffraction will ultimately be forgotten.
February 24th, 2011 at 23:17
hey art just can u give the information about the tripod and the ball head you use thanks
February 27th, 2011 at 00:03
I have been following your blog for 3 days now and i should say i am starting to like your post. and now how do i subscribe to your blog?
February 27th, 2011 at 14:08
Hi Art,
Love your show and your natural style of presentation.
On my 50th my wife gifted me the 1ds MK3 and the 24-70L 2.8 and 70-200L. I still find that I do not get sharp images with them. I sent the camera back to Canon to check and they indicated that there was no problem with it.
I am not sure if it is the lenses or my technique.
I use a Gitzo with an Arcatech head.
I get much sharper pics with my Sony DSC-R1
Really frustrating.
March 1st, 2011 at 14:01
No subscription service at this time. Just stay connected. If you go to our main workshop website (http://www.artwolfeworkshops.com) you can go to our Offers section and sign up to be on our list.
March 1st, 2011 at 14:04
kd-
Hard to say what is going on. If you think it is still the lens, perhaps you could rent the identical lens for a day and shoot images mounted on your tripod with both. If the same technique offers 2 different results, then the lens looks to be the culprit. If both techniques are the same, then you might review your procedures with the tripod and camera. Also do this in a wind-free environment is best.
March 1st, 2011 at 16:32
hermitcrab29-
I use a Gitzo model GT3540 tripod and a Kirk BH-1 head.
March 20th, 2011 at 11:11
Art,
What backpack do you use? Is it the Lowepro Trekker 600? Also, what are the specs of your “Lenovo laptop optimized for photographers”?
Tom
March 22nd, 2011 at 14:32
Tom-
I use the Lowepro Flipside 400 AW backpack.
As for the Lenovo, I have switched over to Apple and use a MacBook Pro with Adobe LightRoom and Photoshop aboard.
April 11th, 2011 at 12:28
Art, love your shows and miss their runs as of late on public tv. Do you always use autofocus or when do you prefer manual?
April 11th, 2011 at 16:42
Terry-
Thanks for the comment. I use AutoFocus especially when shooting motion or long-distance landscapes. When shooting extreme close-ups or creating selective focus for an image, I’ll switch off to manual.
April 13th, 2011 at 10:22
Really enjoy TTTE.
Question: I’ve always used primes, I know Art uses a 16-35 and was wondering how well this lens would do at, say, at 24mm then enlarged to around 30 x 40 inches as compared to even a lowly 24 f/2.8?
Do you use interpolation software before enlarging or the RIP on the printer?
April 13th, 2011 at 11:23
Hi Jeff,
We don’t have any issues with Art producing images with zoom lenses these days. Yes, there is always a difference between primes and zooms with primes having a bit more sharpness to them, but we as photographers are really good at splitting hairs for hairs sake–in my opinion. The new zooms are much sharper than ever before and carrying two lenses while hiking in the wilds of the world is much easier than hiking with 10 primes. Art’s gallery is full of 30 x 40 prints taken entirely with zooms and their sharpness is un-compromised. Digital capture has actually opened many doors in the printing process as now we do not need to create a secondary scan to produce a fine art print and the sharpness gained in this step alone has improved the print quality ten-fold.
We use Photoshop for most of the enlarging mainly because Art is shooting with a 21 megapixel camera and the size is already there in the raw file. The other keys to the success of Art’s prints are that he always uses a tripod, a cable release, and sets his camera to allow for mirror lock-up. A great base starting point always transfers to a final print as well.
Cheers,
Jay G.
May 13th, 2011 at 06:06
Jay wrote ” We use Photoshop for most of the enlarging mainly because Art is shooting with a 21 megapixel camera and the size is already there in the raw file “. This begs the question that if the images are being captured on a lower megapixel full frame camera (say 12mp) what would he suggest for enlarging?
Thanks,
Chuck
May 15th, 2011 at 12:45
Hi Chuck,
I have used Photoshop and Genuine Fractals (now Perfect Resize) for enlargements from previous 10 and 12mp cameras. Essentially anytime I made a print that was 30×40 or larger I used Genuine Fractals and anything smaller I used Photoshop. Now, I pretty much just use Photoshop as I am shooting with a 16mp camera. Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Jay G.
May 24th, 2011 at 07:30
Hello, Art,
I have long been a fan of your macro work and wondered what lenses, accessories and settings you use to achieve such outstanding front-to-back sharpness, especially while working in the field. I just bought the 100-macro for my 5D-Mk II but can’t seem to get the depth of field or sharpness I want.
Grateful for your inspiration and help!
Pat Dorin
May 24th, 2011 at 09:56
Hi Pat,
Thank you for your comment and question. Art typically uses a set of extension tubes with his 70-200mm lens. The extension tube is a hollow piece of metal that allows you to pull the lens away from the camera body giving a closer focusing distance. This gives Art the close focus distance of a macro without having to carry a macro lens. At times when he knows he is going to be shooting a lot of close-up work he will carry the 100mm that you have just purchased. I think your depth of field/sharpness issue is coming from the fact that your film or sensor plane is not parallel to your subject. If you are shooting at an angle no amount of depth of field will allow you the sharpness that you are talking about with Art’s macro images. Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Jay G.
July 18th, 2011 at 08:45
Thank you in advance for your guidance.
Am interested in an entry level camera, but not alot of gear, good for landscape and general outdoor use, and in attending one of your workshops. For the beginner/amatuer, what are your comments on performance of the newest interchangeable lens cameras – Canon EOS 600D/Ti3, Nikon D5100, Panasonic DMC-G3, or even Sony’s NEX-5?
July 19th, 2011 at 14:22
Adrienne-
Forget gear right now. Take my composition class. This can be applied to even iPhone photography and you will get great results. I suggest you get used to using any kind of camera and just start making images.
Of course, I do use high-end camera equipment to obtain larger files and obtain the sharpest image with great lenses, but all of this is is secondary to the composition. Once you have that down, the gear will naturally present itself as to what you need.
September 13th, 2011 at 14:05
Do you have any experience with the 24mm TS-E II? If so, how does it compare to your 16-35 in terms of ease of use and also in terms of results?
September 13th, 2011 at 15:38
Hi Tom,
I use that lens almost everyday I shoot architecture photography. It is one of the sharpest lenses that Canon has in it’s lineup. It does take a little learning and trial/error to get the best results from it though. It is sharper than the 16-35 zoom, but the zoom has the obvious ease of use and ability to make compositional changes without moving the camera. Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Jay G.
November 2nd, 2011 at 15:10
I have a couple of inexpensive cameras, a Cannon which has magnification to about 14x and a Fujifilm camera that has a magnification of about 30x manually adjusted. I like to shoot birds but a lot of time I would like to have 60-70 x magnification or enough detail in the image to allow enlargement. I know you use a 21 megapixel camera. I would assume that you can enlarge a 21 megapixel image to a much greater extent than a say 8 megapixel image so you would not need as much magnification. I have spotting scopes with high magnification. I use to use a 35 mm film camera (Cannon ?-50)with an adapter on one of these scopes. I still have that equipment but not the film camera. It would be nice to fit a digital camera to my fixture. I can’t afford the lenses you use as a professional but I would like to get better bird images if possible with less expensive gear. Now you know how little I know about photography. In the past I took a lot of video at the Brigantine (Edwin Forsythe) Bird Refuge when I lived in the east. I prefer that but a professional video camera is also out of sight for me. My wife has ALZ so her care comes first. Thanks, Art! John
November 4th, 2011 at 15:51
John-
Not sure about the spotting scopes. Best to head down to the camera store and see if the lens mounts are compatible. I would guess not, but there might be an adapter that they make that would work.
Good luck on this and thanks for writing.
November 29th, 2011 at 17:46
I am looking to trade up my 40D and cannot decide to purchase a 7D or 5D body. There is so much conflicting information and opinions out there, I thought I would ask to throw yours in the mix. Given that I would prefer use the L series lenses I have (70-200 IS USM f4 and 24-105 IS USM f4), do I need to heavily weight the apparent superior low light performance of the 5D? I do use AF and also understand that 7D is superior there. It seems there is a bunch of 7D bashing from the 5D’ers re: full-frame and IQ shortcomings of the &D. Thanks for your help. BTW, I will see you next summer in Los Angeles at your seminar.
November 29th, 2011 at 22:32
Michael-
I don’t have a 7D, but I do use a 5D MKII and it has great features. If you are doing mostly AF and the reviews are much more favorable, then the 7D may be the right choice. Remember the 5D has a full-frame sensor which provides the 21mp output and the HD video. It is a nice fit in the hands, too, but I use a tripod almost always. Good luck with your decision.
January 11th, 2012 at 21:22
Art,
For your up and coming workshop in Chicago (May 20th) what level students is the class geared towards? Is it a advance class, or can intermediate photographers attend?
A big thank you to you and your team for all you help.
Christian
January 12th, 2012 at 10:04
Christian-
The answer is all of the above. Anyone that chooses to capture an image and wants to know how to do it better will benefit. This is not a technical program, but a unique way to approach the aesthetic of the photograph. If you are shooting with your iPhone, or a PhaseOne Medium format, you will get something of value out of this program. How we create the image and compose it is the thing that makes it interesting and beautiful. I can show you new and different ways to SEE and CREATE. Join us in Chicago.