Photocritic photography blog

Okay, so technically it’s ‘hacking’ rather than cracking, but that’d ruin my beautifully alliterative subject line.

Anyway… If you’re using a consumer grade point-and-shoot Canon digital camera, you’ve got hardware in hand that can support advanced features way beyond what shipped in the box.

With the help of a free, open source project called CHDK, you can get features like RAW shooting mode, live RGB histograms, motion-detection, time-lapse, and even games on it.

Pure, unadulterated awesome - check it out here! (via)

If you’re reading Photocritic regularly, you could be forgiven for thinking there’s nothing in the world of D-SLR cameras beyond Canon and Nikon.

Of course, nothing could be further from the truth: Competition is stronger than ever, and there’s a lot of other manufacturers bidding for your entry-level-cash…

So we’ve had a look at the top entry-level dSLR cameras, and what professional reviewers think of them - who knows, it might just come in handy when you’re ready to buy your next camera! Read the rest of the article »

It’s that time of year, and all that, so I thought I’d put together something of a christmas list: What can you get your photography-addicted buddy for the holiday season?

But first, let’s help the readers of this post with a poll. Here’s your chance to tell people what you’d really like!

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You know it’s a special day when Canon drag me out to attend a press launch.

This time around, it was more than worth it - as a long-time Canon user, I’m rather excited about the new top-of-the-shelf from the Nipponese photography powerhouse!

The Canon 1Ds mark III has been a long time coming, but hell, this time, they’ve really outdone themselves. Read the rest of the article »

I got an e-mail from Crestock a while back, asking me if I wanted to be one of the judges for a photography competition. My response was something along the lines of ‘yah, sure, I’ll give it a whirl’, and then, I promptly forgot about it.

Then, they got back to me and told me what the competition prize is: A Canon EOS 1Ds mk2, complete with a Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM lens. ! I feel cheated, because by being one of the judges, I can’t enter the competition myself, and I obviously can’t win the goodies myself.

As such, I guess I’ll just write about the competition here on Photocritic: If I can’t win, I may as well give one of you lot the chance… Go on, dear readers, do me proud! Read the rest of the article »

I’m a bit of a Canon kid. I admit it. So when Canon launched their new flagship camera, the Canon 1D mk3, I decided I had to do a bit of a news coverage round-up.

Canon tonight launched what it calls — and really is — the world’s fastest digital SLR (D-SLR) camera, the 1D Mark III. Based upon the current 1D Mark II and the 1D before it, the new Mark III brings a host of new features. The camera will be Canon’s flagship high-speed D-SLR, suitable for sports and types of photography that requires fast shooting speeds. Read the rest of the article »

On Photocritic, I don’t generally bother talking too much about equipment, unless I’m particularly excited about something. My approach towards photography is that a good photographer can take good pictures with bad equipment. A bad photographer can only take mediocre photos with good equipment. In other words: If your technical skills and photographic insight aren’t up to scratch, you’ve already lost the game: No amount of equipment can save you.

Nevertheless, I often get comments and e-mails asking about what type of equipment I use. It’s an interesting question, but asked wrongly. My equipment list is boring. The argumentation for choosing each of these pieces of equipment is what is interesting, because it might help you pick which lens or gadget you buy next! Read the rest of the article »

Owners of high-mileage automobiles know that there is a certain magic about seeing your clock tick over from 99,999 miles to zero. As if your old 100,000 mile warrior is brand new again. A quick check reveals that there’s no such luck: The rust is still there. That passenger door is still dented. The engine still makes that weird rattle at 56.2 miles per hour. But there’s something very satisfying about it as well. You learn the quirks and niggles of your motor, and it means that you are the only person who can drive it properly.

The same thing goes for digital cameras. I was just downloading some photos off my 30D, and discovered that I had gone around the clock yet again. That marks the fact that I’ve taken 100,000 photos with my cameras over the past five years or so. Read the rest of the article »

If you’re used to manual lenses, you know how easy it is to stop them down. If you are a little bit more advanced than that, and have ‘graduated’ to more advanced lenses, stopping down a lens (i.e making the aperture smaller) while it is not attached to a camera body can get a little problematic. There is a way to do it, however… Read the rest of the article »

Peeling the plastic of the issue of New Scientist magazine I just received in the mail, I dropped the mag on the ground. It fell page-open on page 51, which happened to be a photography competition. Now I’m not supersticious, particularly, but I definitely felt it was a sign to share it with you lot!

Competition entries can be viewed here, and you can add your own entries at the same URL. Get your submissions in, you can win a Canon EOS 400D!