Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM

Lens box, new equipment.

After a week of absence, at last I’m back for a new upgrade of my photography equipment. This time it’s a macro lens: Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM. Yet another upgrade for my photography equipment and also an upgrade for my figure photography world. I can expect even more beautiful and sharp photos of my figures in the figure photo session.

 

New lens at last!!!

After a year and more of waiting, i got this lens in hand. I’ve been wanting to get this lens for so long, and at last i bought this in NIX ‘09, the same place i bought my new Samsung 633NW monitor. Well anyway, this lens got a metal body, unlike the standard lens. It also got full manual focus and internal focus features.

Full manual focus : you can still adjust the focus even after you half-pressed the shutter button and got the object focus-locked. You can’t adjust lens focus after you focus-locked with non full manual focus lens.

Internal focus : the external part of the lens won’t rotate or move while focusing. External focus lens will have some part of it move while focusing, and it could be annoying if you use a lens filter like Circular Polarizer.

 

So this is my main photography equipment.

So, including this macro lens, i already have 4 lenses in my equipment. Of course with the same body: Canon 400D, and one flash: Canon SpeedLite 580EXII.

Anyway, using macro lens isn’t as easy as i thought, especially if you play with small objects and small DOF area (using small aperture value). Even a small movement can cause you losing focus on certain object. Well, need some time to get use to it. I guess that’s all the rant, and let’s move on to some sample photos i took using this lens:

 

Haruhi Gekisou’s face, looks so sharp, including the mic and the necklace.

 

Louise’s face, even the plastic texture on her hair is visible using this lens.

 

Guess whose pantie?

 

I took this sample photos while opening May haul, just expect the preview at later post.

 

Alter Hayate’s Reinforce, it’s so small, yet this macro lens can cover it all.

 

Can you see the writing “Lock” (caps lock) and “Shift” below Yuki?

That’s it for the sample photos. It’s a pretty amazing lens! If you’re a DSLR user, and you’re into figure photography, then you should get a macro lens. I’ve been using this lens for a week, so you can consider this post is late. But oh well… better late than never.

That’s it for now! Expect more random things and also, an event coverage. See you at the next post!

My primary lens is ...

It's broken, and yeah... what else can i say?

...broken. Yeah, that's right, it's broken. If you see the picture above, you'll know how this lens cannot be used anymore. This is the old Canon EF-S 18-55mm. This lens is categorized as old, because this lens has already been in discontinued status, and replaced with Canon EF-S 18-55mm IS (Image Stabilizer).

Anyway, the lens is totally bent, and the motor inside already broken. It's hard to rotate the zoom, and it can't be used to change the zoom, focus, and auto-focus. So you DEFINITELY don't want to have this lens mounted on your Canon Body.

Sorry, Nanoha... Please wait until i got a new lens, okay?

So this happened last Friday, when i was doing a photo session of Nanoha instructor uniform version. I always invited my photography friends each time i did a photo session. And i did the photo session in my own room, with mini studio setup, and also with my camera connected to PC (EOS Utility - Remote Shooting). But this was also the cause of this accident.

Of course, there would be a USB cable lying on the floor. At the moment where i turned toward my PC to edit the photo directly in DPP (Digital Photo Professional - Canon's software), i put down my camera onto the table. Then, my friend walked out of my room, and then you guess it. The cable stuck on his foot, and pulled my camera down right to the floor.

The lens, actually, hit the floor first. So almost all the damage was absorbed by the lens, and it became bent like that. I'm glad that the SLR body itself didn't take any damage at all. So my camera is still in a good shape, but not my lens. Unfortunately, the broken lens is EF-S 18-55mm and it's my primary lens. So that means, i can't do any good photoshoot before i get a new lens.

It seems that i have to postpone Nanoha photoshoot for awhile...

Wireless flash system

PT-04 Receiver.

Yesterday i was rather sick and have to rest myself on the bed the whole day (watching anime XD), so i couldn't get this topic posted at the right time. This is the continuation of the last post, imitating figure pose with figma. You might wanna ask what are those 2 things in the photo above? Look back at the title of this post and guess what are those.

It's actually a wireless hotshoe and the remote. It used radio frequency to transmit the signal to fire the flash. The thing with the button is the remote, and you put that on your camera hotshoe. While the other is the receiver, you put your external flash on it. As the name implies, it's a wireless flash system, and it enables you to fire the external flash in different place from the camera.

This is the environment, i don't have to carry the whole camera+flash.

I used this system for photos in last post. You may find that there are no significant effect in the photos. The real use for this system is to create a studio lighting effect using cheap / standard DSLR equipment. There won't be any different if the flash used only 1 unit. Recommended number for studio lighting effect is 2-4 units. That way you can create a beautiful effect in your photos.

Why do you need so many number of flash? Have you ever use normal desk lamps for figure shooting? You can use 1, 2, or maybe more of them, depending on the background you use. Brighter background needs more lighting, because you'll need to make the background as bright as your normal eyes saw it.

If we're talking about lighting, whether it is flash or it is desk lamp, there are 4 lightings you'll need, and those lightings are placed in different place.
- First is main object lighting which will light the main object. This light is the real deal, you might want this light to be diffused so the shadow won't be hard.
- Second is secondary object lighting which will light the object from a different side. This light can be a weaker light, or reflector, or whatever. It's used to reduce the shadow but that doesn't mean you have to make the shadow disappear.
- Third is hair light. This is just for support, to make it brighter and gives a natural feeling.
- Last is BG light. You have to make this light strong enough, in order to make the shadow in the BG disappear. You won't need this lighting if you use a black background, but you'll need this light if you use a bright background.

The flash wasn't on my body, but on the tripod.

This setting is basic and standard setting for studio lighting. You might want to experiment with these lightings first, and try to get the lighting at your own preferences. Well that's it for today.

Canon Speedlite 580EX II

Canon Speedlite 580EX II

Thursday 26 June 2008, i decided to buy an external flash for my DSLR camera. I bought (so far) the best (and the most expensive) Canon external flash, Canon Speedlite 580EX II. Using an external flash is considered to be a big step up in photography level. With this external flash you can do more than you can before.

Speedlite parts.

Before we talk about photography essentials, let's talk about this thing first. Canon Speedlite 580EX II came with 1 external flash (of course, you're BUYING flash), 1 bag, 1 shoestand. Diffuser sold separately. Sometimes you'll need a diffuser in order to soften the light that came out from this flash. I bought this Speedlite with IDR 3850000 (USD 400).

Buying external flash means that you have to be prepared to buy another things that support external flash. I ended up buying diffuser (IDR 150000 around USD 18), 4 AA Powerex batteries with the charger (IDR 370000 around USD 40), and another 4 AA Powerex batteries without charger just for spare batteries (IDR 120000). I have to pay IDR 4440000 (USD 460) for all thos things including the flash itself. It takes a lot of money, but it's very worth to buy, especially for you DSLR user.

Comparison photo between internal flash and external flash usage.

Let's get back into photography essentials. Lighting is one of the important factor in photography. Great photos come from great lighting. I used to participate in a photography competition and the person who win this competition have very nice lighting (using wireless flash). Source of the light and where it come from must be calculated carefully in order to make a great photos.

First time you held an SLR you should realize something and come up with this question:

"I can see well in my well-lit room, but why my SLR responded with "very" slow shutter speed?"

Don't be decieved by your eyes.... Our eyes has bigger aperture, bigger than any lenses that has been made. With bigger aperture opening, more light comes in, so less shutter time needed.

Note 1 : Big aperture means big opening in the lens diaphragm (correct me if i'm wrong), but in camera system big aperture means smaller number in F value.

Note 2 : "very" Slow shutter speed means that your camera gives you a slow speed that normal human unable to hold it firmly, causing blur (shake) in the photo result.

Note 3 : Sorry for this technical talks. It must be difficult for non-photographer to follow, if you can't follow, just skip it and enjoy the photos :P.

Firing external flash directly to the object.

What will happen if the aperture already maxed and you still have a slow shutter speed? Pocket automatic camera will fire a flash to get the photos brighter and you can see the result. But the problem come from that internal flash. Usually, this kind of action will give you horrible result. The objects will get all flat and the 3D impression, my friend, will gone with the wind...

Firing diffused external flash directly to the object.

It might be the easiest way to prevent blur, but the result won't be good to see and enjoy. So you have to find another way to get good lighting. External flash is the best way to get good lighting. Look at the comparison photo above. You can see the the difference between internal flash (left) and external flash (right).

Firing undiffused external flash to the roof (bounce lighting).

External flash has more option so you can set it manually to get the best lighting you need. You can also vertically turn the flash 0-90° and horizontally turn it 360°. With this feature, you can shoot the light to walls or roof and bounce it back to the object. This way, you can give the photos a different lighting effect.

The best photo using speedlite so far.

I'm still experimenting to get the best lighting for me. So far, i haven't tried master slave system (2 speedlite, 1 mounted on camera, the other triggered using wireless). I planned on buying hotshoe slave to make a wireless flash trigger system. A wireless flash system is great for figure (mini-studio) photography.

Different flash position can create a different lighting effect. A minimum of 2 flashes are needed to create beautiful lighting effect. The first flash is used for hair lamp. The other flash can be used for lighting from side direction. Well, making good lighting could also be a killer for your wallet because of the things you need to purchase, so plan it wisely.

Well, that's it for now...

Various thing about last photoshoot

All the Haruhi i have (minus Haruhi Toranoana)

Haruhi is one of my favorite anime character. And all the Haruhi here is stil a small number of all the Haruhi figure that ever released on earth. And also Haruhi is the first figure i bought. She's the one who lead me to figure collecting world.

Haruhi Maxfact : hey, you got big breast!
Haruhi Metamo : of course!

Two Haruhis are always fun to play and make a little dialog between them. And for that reason, this photo above existed. It's a little coincidence that Haruhi Maxfact finger has the same height with Haruhi Metamo's breast.

My mini-studio in my messy room

So this is how i arrange my mini studio. I got only 2 lamps, 2 tables, 1 light box, and 1 tripod. I used a plastic chair and semi-transparent paper to create a light box. The lamp inside the light box only have 23 watts power.

If you look at Suzumiya Haruhi - The photoshoot comments, you'll know that i have a hard time to create a close up photos. I got some problem with my mini studio arrangement :

1. The table is a little to long, so i can't get my tripod close enough to the object.
2. I can't move the object closer to the camera because of the lamp. Moving my lamp and light box also not an option since the cable isn't long enough.

So that's why i need a macro lens to get close up photos, and a flash gun (plus wireless) to create a light from new direction.

That's it for this photo session. Look forward for next photo session with new figures. I haven't photographed my Nendoroid, and i already paid my figma Haruhi, so the only thing left is wait for figma Haruhi.

Sparkling Surabaya - Random coolness of my city

Sparkling Surabaya

I don't know why i posted these photos of my beloved Surabaya in the night. Just playing random, i guess. I don't plan on leaving this city until i finished my study in iSTTS, so posting these photos on my blog might be a little relevant.

Ever heard of "Korea, sparkling"? It's Korea's tourism symbol / logo / motto / whatever you want to call it. I've made this Sparkling Surabaya not because i want to made a logo that similar to Korea. It's just a symbol of my randomness.

Bambu Runcing (Sharp bamboo???)

I had a hard time to decide what to write for this photo caption. Some Indonesian words are not fitting if they were translated directly to English. Anyway, Bambu Runcing is one of many historical monuments in Surabaya. It's a symbol of Indonesian (Surabaya to be exact) people's struggle against colonialism. They used a bamboo with sharpened tip as a spear.

Galaxy Mall

And this is one of many malls in Surabaya, Galaxy Mall. There's not much i can tell about this Galaxy Mall. Just randomly shot this object at night.