Comparing 50mm 1.8 Lens to 50mm 1.4 Lens With Side-By-Side Images With Same Settings

One of the first lenses I invested in is the Canon 50mm 1.8 lens. I do think this is a fantastic lens, especially when compared with the kit lens, and I use it without hesitation.
That said..
I also own a dreamy L lens. (You can see my lens comparison blog post here)

The L lens is amazing but very heavy. When my husband and I decided to go on a vacation backpacking overseas this summer, I hit a crossroads: Do I bring the 50mm 1.8 or the 85mm 1.2?

The 85mm is the superior lens however it is very heavy. However on a vacation I want the best quality.

The solution?

We invested in a 50mm 1.4 lens.

It’s not as nice as the 85mm 1.2 but nicer than the 50mm 1.8 – a great compromise.

The day I got it I was anxious to try it out and see what I thought. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but what I discovered really surprised me.

Based on my one test (I plan to do more!) the 1.4 seems greatly superior to the 1.4!

These are the test shots I did.. Keep in mind I sat at the same spot, used the same camera, with the same settings, with no lens hood and no filter on either lens & none of the photos are edited in any way except the text and size.  The only thing that changed is the lens.

Left side is the 50mm 1.4 and the right side is the 50mm 1.8

Left side is the 50mm 1.4 and the right side is the 50mm 1.8

So there are my side-by-side image comparisons using 2 different lenses – remember they were taken with all things equal and they are not edited in any way except for adding the text to the image and reducing the size of the image to post online.

If you’re well convinced that you would like a 50mm 1.4, here’s a link to the lens on Amazon.

I will try to do another round at a different location soon!

-Christine Ann
Duluth MN Family Photographer

Neckstrap vs Hand Strap – And How to Use Both Simotaneously

When we start out taking photos, most of us will use the standard neck strap that the camera comes with. As you get more and more into photography and start exploring what kind of accessories are out there you will stumble upon a hand/handstrap. Most people will buy it and try it and some will prefer it and some will yet still prefer the neck strap – it’s all personal preference.
For me – I like both. They both serve different purposes. Since a camera only has 2 slots to attach a strap to (top left and top right) you may think you need to choose one or the other however you don’t :).
I have both attached to my camera and use them interchangeably (photos below as to how this works).

Advantages of the neck strap:
*Do not have to worry about dropping the camera
*Camera is accessible at a moments notice
*Allows you to carry the camera around for long periods of time
*Keeps camera in front of you making it safer (unless you sling it over your shoulder to the side).
*It distributes the weight of your camera/lens across your neck or shoulder making it feel less heavy

Disadvantages:
*Large/bulky
*It can get in the way of both what you are doing  and also in front of the lens, blocking your shot (if it’s not around your neck)
* It can get uncomfortable (this can help be avoided by buying a padded neckstrap – links below for help deciding which to buy)
*You can underestimate how big your camera is or forget about it all together and bump it on stuff as you pass it by

Times I use the neck strap are when I’m on a walk or at an event and need the camera accessible but am taking a break from using it, when other people use my camera I make them put it on (haha), or if I’m worried I may drop the camera and need extra assurance of its safety.

Advantages of the hand strap:
Makes the camera more stable/less camera shake
Camera is easily accessible
Good for short breaks
It looks professional (not a major point here, but worth noting)

Disadvantages:
It puts the camera more at the side of your body while you walk, making it less safe/easier to bump
It is less safe/reliable than a neck strap (this is especially important to me the times I hand my camera to someone else.. I feel confident putting the neckstrap on someone but my heart races a little if it’s just the hand strap)
It can start to feel very heavy in your hand/arm
It gets in the way of the battery door – not a big deal and you do not need to remove it to access it (at least on my camera) but I do have to loosen it and swivel it around

I use the hand strap every time I am taking photos for stability and also to keep it safer. I also use it while we we move from spot to spot in short distances (long distances I use the neck strap or camera bag) – it gives me extra assurance it will not be dropped.

There is honestly no black and white answer to which is better. A lot of professionals use the hand strap and a lot use the neck strap (though if they use the neck strap they mostly invest in a padded neckstrap – more on that in a moment).  You’ll probably have to try both for yourself to determine which you prefer. I think there is a slight sway towards the hand straps but maybe hand strap users are just more vocal about it 🙂 who knows, but either way they are both common and both well liked by their users.

As for me I use both. Someone asked me how I am able to use both so I took some photos of my camera to help give a visual aid as to how my hand strap is designed and set up so that I can keep both attached for their different uses.

This is what my camera looks like with the neck strap and hand strap attached:

Camera attachments explained and analyzed

So as you can see from the photos the hand strap attaches to the top right neck strap insert and screws into the tripod socket (and the strap mounts into the strap insert attached to the hand strap hardware).  The neck strap then attaches to the top left neck strap insert on the camera and the strap insert attached to the left side of the hand strap – the best of both worlds!

Lastly I said I would link to some nice, reputable neck straps to upgrade from the default one that comes with the camera.  They are cushioned, padded, have pockets for memory cards, well designed and make it much  more comfortable to use a neck strap.  Here is one article that discusses the top 6 neck straps, tested and rated click here.  The two names I see the most are Black Rapid and Op Tech.

-Christine Ann
Duluth Photographer Website
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1 Tip Which Will Improve Your Color Pop/Selective Color Images

I frequent many photography forums and one topic that comes up often is “color selection” or “color pop” edits.  This is when you have a black and white images and you bring back color on just a couple select spots.  These images are not often well received by lot of pros.  I am amongst this group 🙂 but they do have their place :).
I think the worst part about color selection is just how harsh the color is in the image.  It doesn’t flow well.  This is when I created my own way of doing color selection photos, where you just bring back about half of the color instead of all the color.  It makes a huge difference!  And I definitely much prefer the subtle color to the sharp, vivid color.

How do you accomplish this?  If you are layering a color image over a black and white image and erasing, then erase away at around 30-40% opacity.
If you are using a layer mask, set your paintbrush to around 30-40% opacity.  tada!  Very simple indeed.  This will make a huge difference in how the photo looks after you edit it.

One other tip I have is to pick just one focal point to selective color..a lot of people go a little crazy with their brush and bring back half the image so it’s half color and half black and white.  This looks a bit odd and unnatural and also there is no real concept behind it.  Usually you want to color pop something with meaning or symbolism or a concept (not always but like usually just an item vs a shirt).  In the sample image I am posting here I decided to have 2 color pops so they would balance each other out more but notice the items I picked were small so it doesn’t overwhelm the photo.  I believe my opacity for this image was around 30%.. to do it again I  might bump it up a bit higher, but you get the idea.

This is the image at 100% opacity.. this is the full color image brought back to the black and white image, and this is what most photographers who do color pop do:

^ Color brought back at full strength.

And the photo shown below is the same image with the color brought back around 30% opacity.  It might even be more like 20%. It is a little bit dull but it looks so much less distracting and more natural.. I much prefer it to the full color photo.

^Color brought back around 20-30% strength.

For one more example I’ll show one brought back around 50% opacity.

^Color brought back around 50% strength. This is my favorite edit of the three (I might tone it down a notch but overall the color isn’t too overbearing and “sharp” and it blends much better than at full strength – in my opinion anyway!).

As with all things in photography, which is better is subjective.  Surely there are people who prefer the first to the second.  If you do like the first you could even play around with bringing back the color around 70%-80% so it’s just not so vivid and contrasting.  While I’m not a huge fan of color pop photos, I do find myself much more receptive to them when done in a more subtle manner, just thought/style I would share with everyone :).

-Christine Ann
Duluth Minnesota Photographer
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Unedited Photos from T2i + 50mm Lens.

This blog is specifically dedicated to showing images straight from the T2i + 50mm lens.  This is the combo I used for a few years before upgrading to the Mark II 5D + 85mm 1.2L lens.  I got the upgrade about 2 years ago (a little less..) and have barely touched my T2i since (though I do still use the 50mm sometimes).  I picked up my T2i for the first time in a couple years and was surprised by how much better of photos I could get off it than I was ever able to before.  I could not have intentionally gotten as clear and nice of photos (though I did get some lucky ones!) when I used this combo about 2 years ago.  The equipment didn’t change, but I have :).  And I speculate if I pick it up in 2 more years they’ll be even better.  This isn’t to say you can’t get “nicer” photos on nicer equipment, but I recently compared photos from the Mark II 5d + 85mm 1.2L lens to photos on the Mark II 5D + 50mm 1.8 lens to photos on the T2i + 50mm 1.8 lens (IE:  $3,000 camera + $2,000 lens to $3,000 camera + $100 lens to $700 camera + $100 lens) and the results were not all that different from one another.  I was incredibly surprised!  You can see the image comparisons here:  https://christineannphotos.wordpress.com/2013/10/20/photos-taken-with-canon-rebel-t2i-50mm-1-8-lens/ keeping in mind they are unedited and you need to click them to see the full detail of each photo.
The point in all this is that if your photos are out of focus or not sharp it is almost definitely you and not your equipment.  I read a post from someone who has sent back the same 50mm 1.8 lens used in this blog post 2 times, got it a third time and was wondering if she should send it back again or get a different lens all together.  I can assure everyone it was not the lens any of those 3 times, it’s a lack of understanding how to use your camera and how/where to pose people and why.   You can give an artist crappy supplies and they can make something beautiful; you can give someone who is not an artist high end supplies and they will not be able to do much with it.  Focus your energy on practicing, improving, and learning how to use the equipment you have and how to edit.  My one piece of advice regarding equipment is that the kit lens is junk and if you only own a kit lens, it’s time to at least upgrade to the 50mm 1.8.. it is around $100 and you will see a quality improvement!  That is one thing my test shots did show.. a noticeable difference in quality regarding the kit lens to 50mm lens.  Anyway these are some images I have gotten off the T2i in the last couple months (most being from the last few days specifically for some blogs I want to do on starter equipment) they are unedited and I could further improve them by doing some editing 🙂 but then you wouldn’t know what is due to the equipment and what is due to the editing so I will leave them alone.

Unedited images from the T2i + 50mm lens  *CLICK EACH IMAGE FOR FULL DETAIL*:

*Click images for full detail.. the thumbnails look fuzzier than they are*.

*Click images for full detail*

*Click images for full detail*

*Click images for full detail*.

*Click images for full detail.. the thumbnails look fuzzy*.

*Click images for full detail*.

*Click images for full detail*.

*Click images for full detail*.

*Click images for full detail*.

-Christine Ann
Christine Ann Photography Web Site
Christine Ann Photography Facebook

Image Comparisons T2i VS Mark II; 85mm 1.2 vs 50mm 1.8 vs Kit Lens

A hot topic in the photography world is does better equipment = better photos? I started on the Canon Rebel XSI + kit lens (18-55mm), acquired a similar-quality telephoto  lens (55-250mm), acquired the 50mm 1.8, upgraded cameras to the T2i, …

This one thing may be ruining your photos (with image comparison).

There is one thing that we all start off doing that may be ruining your photographs: using the on-camera pop-up flash.
I thought it might be beneficial for people learning about photography to see image comparisons of photos taken with natural sunlight (in front of a window or outside) vs photos taken with the on-camera pop-up flash. Most professional photographers overwhelmingly prefer shooting with natural light however we all own external flashes and diffusers for the times where natural light just isn’t working or happening. I think we all start out using it and over years of experience and learning come to realize there are better alternatives. Some things that the on camera pop-up flash does: it creates horrible shadows! Both behind the person you are photographing and also oftentimes under their chin, depending on their angle. It creates these tiny pin-lights in the eyes (the reflection in the eyes is a tiny little dot in the pupil). It makes people squint and blink. Children complain about it hurting their eyes and it just all around looks mostly unnatural. The hair gets mega-highlighted and colors look shiny and overly textured/vibrant.

Alternatives to pop-up flash:
The best alternative: find great sources of natural light – usually in front of a window or in the shade outside.
Another great alternative: Buy a lens with a low aperture. They go down as low as f/1.2! You can handle most situations with this ability but your focus will have to be perfect (Note shooting at f/1.2 is usually not wise because of how shallow your depth of field becomes.. but it’s a nice option to have and I have shot at 1.2 before – not professionally – but for my own photos). Low aperture lenses tend to be very costly. There is one cheap lens that every photographer should own which is the 50mm f/1.8 lens. It’s around $100 and is very great for the price. It is made of plastic and you’ll want to upgrade to a very nice lens eventually but if you are a hobbiest and still learning the 1.8 is a great great option for you!!!! (And is WAY better than the kit lens which also may be ruining your photos if you are using it..).
If you do need flash, you can purchase an off-camera (external) flash and learn to bounce the light and/or diffuse it (ideal! And what professionals do).
If you find none of these are good alternatives for you right now, there are two other options. Option 1 is buying a pop-up flash diffuser. I have not tried one so I can’t vouch for it but I imagine it would help. Option 2 is changing your settings in camera and lowering the strength of the flash (not all cameras can do this but it’s worth looking into and trying out!).

Please note that if you compare flash with natural light in a spot where natural light is not good, the photo taken with a flash will usually look better. Part of learning about photography is developing an eye for and understanding of where the natural light is the best. Studio lighting can be amazing however mastering it takes a lot of time and money. Most photos, however, can be taken with natural light and most people prefer the look of it (though not everyone does, photography is entirely subjective!).

All of these photographs were taken on the same camera: Canon Rebel T2i and all were taken within the last month except the very last one which was taken back in December.

Natural light photograph, taken in front of a window. Notice now nice the reflections in their eyes are and how natural and soft everything is.

Natural light photograph.

Natural light photograph.

Natural light photograph.

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Photos taken with on-camera pop-up flash – notice the tiny little pin-light being reflected in the pupil and how the hair is super shiny and the shadows being cast behind them and under the chin as well.
On-camera pop-up flash.

On-camera pop-up flash.

On-camera pop-up flash.

Some people may prefer the flash photos, some prefer the natural light ones, and neither one is wrong, but it is good to be able to know how various things – such as your light source – will affect a photo!

-Christine Ann
www.christineannphotos.com
www.facebook.com/christineannphotos
Duluth Minnesota Photographer