Digital Camera Repair Blog

So you want one of the fancy Canon EOS cameras that take amazing HD video like the 7D or the 5D MkII right? All you need is a Canon EOS camera with Live View, a USB cable, a computer to save the video, and a couple pieces of easy software!

Install the EOS utility software on your computer, install the “eos-movrec” software, connect the camera to the compute via USB and you are good to go! Basically the software uses the information for the Live View and records it to your Mac or PC in movie format! Cool!

Here is the software you need to get the party started:

http://sourceforge.net/projects/eos-movrec/

Cameras supported:
XSi/450D
T1i/500D
T2i/550D
XS/1000D
40D
50D
and any others with Live View but without the ability to record video.

I have a Nikon D50, so I won’t be able to tell you how it works. =(

Thomas

Continue Reading

There’s a couple more digital SLR cameras now on the market vying for your dollars. Sony released the DSLR-A290 and DSLR-A390 cameras with the lower end of the spending spectrum in mind. The A390 is about $575, and the A290 $500, both with kit lens.

New Sony Alphas

The big difference between the two is the A390 has an articulating (moving) LCD screen and Live View, and the A290 does not. If you don’t use Live View with a DSLR, and don’t ever think “gee I wish my LCD was adjustable!” then save some money and get the A290. Personally, it’s worth it to get the A390 just for those occasions where you find yourself saying “DANG! I wish I had bought the other one instead”.

Here are the specs of the two cameras:

DSLR-A290 & DSLR-A390 Specs.

You can buy a new Sony Alpha DSLR camera through our Amazon shop. If you are interested in one, please help support our site so that we can do even more in the future.

Continue Reading

I used to play soccer as a kid, and it was plenty of fun. There was actual SCORING and excitement that took place! Half of the players didn’t take dives and fake injuries, there were shots on goal, and in every game goals were scored. The FIFA World Cup is absolutely, positively the pinnacle of BORING when it comes to soccer. 0-0 ties over and over… wow, the drama, the excitement, my poor little heart can’t take it.

Aside from the boring soccer, there is the opportunity to take some great pictures… and leave it to none other than The Big Picture from The Boston Globe to bring the best photos to us. Man, I love the internet! Enjoy.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/07/2010_world_cup_comes_to_a_clos.html

Image courtesy of The Boston Globes’ The Big Picture

Continue Reading

I’m not the greatest photographer that’s for sure, but I do like taking nature, landscape and other still-life photos. I’m not very good with portraits, but candid photos I do fairly well. For decades all portraits have been ‘sit up, smile, look at the camera’, pretty boring. Try something different with your portraits, don’t just have your subjects sit and smile, be creative!

Here is a very famous photo of Winston Churchill. If you’re not familiar with Churchill, he was NEVER without a cigar in his mouth, but for this picture, the photographer snatched it away from without warning and snapped the shot below.

Winston Churchill 1941; Yousuf Karsh, Photographer

Here’s a little blurb from about.com regarding the subject:

Somewhere in time it became common practice to make subjects look at the camera for portraits. However, this “rule” can cause a lot of grief and ruin photographs. Having a person looking at the camera and smiling can make a nice image. But if the subject continually wrinkles their forehead, squints their eyes, or cannot make a non-overdramatic smile when looking at the camera, then you are better off having the subject look away.

Portrait photography should always be a pleasant experience for everyone involved. It is never worth tears or fear to try to force a young subject (or older camera-shy subject) into a pre-conceived notion of a “proper portrait.” The best portraits capture the personality of the subject.

Let your subject look at a prop or out of the frame. With a little imagination in props and backgrounds you’ll find that these portraits quickly become some of your favorites.

Post credit: Liz Masoner, http://photography.about.com/b/

Continue Reading