I’ll chime in about the IR, but I certainly do not know it all. I was much more into IR with my old two megapixel Olympus C2000Z. IT was very sensitive to infra red so I bought an IR filter for it. The filter was so dark that I could not see the image on the screen and it was difficult for the camera to focus; AND the shutter speed was so slow in daylight that it needed to be on a tripod. All that together made it not all too much fun. The results were very cool though.

With DSLRs we have learned that some cameras are much more sensitive to IR than others. If a camera is sensitive enough, then one can purchase a IR filters which screws on your lens. It filters out visible light and lets the sensor photograph only the IR light reflecting off your subject. Actually, there are variations of IR filters that let in more or less of light from the visible spectrum. Again, keep in mind that a dark IR filter makes it hard to see through your camera lens and possibly focus.

Another solution is to convert your camera sensor so it is always sensitive to IR light only (all the time). With such a conversion you do not need any filters on your lens and your camera behaves normally, but your images have an entirely different (IR) look. I’ve been meaning to ask the folks from a company, which performs IR camera conversions as well as provides kits to do it yourself, to be on the show. I’ve been intending to convert my D70 to IR ever since I got the D200. Maybe it is time. IR is a lot of fun.

–Michael

Nick, those workshops look good. I want to go! I never saw workshops that were limited to one camera brand before - I’m not sure that I think that makes a lot of sense and it smack of discrimination to me - if a Canon shooter wants to do the Amazon trip, he or she can’t, and I can’t think of why not. But I’m sure the workshop organizers know their reasons.

Good printer advice, Herne and Alex. I always think its helpful when people suggest a particular model.

Laura, anything that gets you through a bike workout has to be good! The most boring piece of exercise equipment EVER! I prefer the eliptical. Good for you for being so planful about your purchases. Michael and I don’t dislike tripods at all. We just think that if you don’t shoot landscapes, macros, or have a studio setup, you’ll probably use it less than you think. You’ll LOVE the 50mm - always a great lens. I don’t know what an infrared lens does - don’t you have to remove the IR filter from your camera to shoot IR, or am I missing something. I’ll have to ask Michael - he knows everything.

If you’re looking for some good books, Laura, go to indigo.ca and type “Photo Workshop” in the keyword search. Lots of good books there. I have the Lighting book, Composition, and Photos That Inspire from that series and I’m waiting on the Rick Sammon’s Canon EOS book, the Exposure Workshop book and the Canon EOS Digital Photography book.

I found your show on itunes and immediately liked you two guys. I’ve downloaded a pile of shows going right back to the first first one. I listen to them when I am on the Hated Stationary Bike at the gym, and when I am washing the dishes in the evening. I’ve learned a ton through you guys and appreciate it immensely. Thanks so much, Scott and Michael!

Now that I am a newly addicted photo nut, I am squirreling away my money to add to my photo collection. I am planning on purchasing this year:

A tripod (I know your guys aren’t big fans of tripods but…)
A infrared lens (I’ll need the tripod to hold the camera during the long long exposures)
Nikon 50 mm f/1.8 lens. I’ve heard and read raves and raves about this lens. It’s on order right now!
SB600 light
Macro lens because like Michael I like the teeny things such as leaves and bugs, and they are always around if there is little interesting around
Wide angle lens that also fish eyes (I love fish eye photos! I have a Lomo fisheye and adore the over saturated colours and the wacky roundness.)

Thanks guys for the great shows! I can’t wait to hear more, especially the interviews. I enjoyed the ones with Scott Kelby and Rick Sammon.

Yours, Laura in Toronto, Canada

In the past I have used the Sony Personal Lab (which is gone) and the Olympus P-10 (which is still around), this little printer does gorgeous pictures slightly smaller than 4×6, can be connected to a computer or tho the camera via pictbridge, which I love.

My personal favorite is the hi-ti 730. The reason is just the preference to do 5×7 prints (it can do 4×6 and 6×8 as well), I like the format and most people do as well, within 2 months the printer paid itself 10 times. The prints are great, but you have to play with the driver and I use a different software than the one provided to get better results.

Jackie, I understand you are looking for an 8×10 printer as I heard in your question, I do not own one, because I have not felt the need for it, however I have reserched the market and, if I will buy an 8×10 dye-sublimation printer it will be the Kodak 1400, the prints are slightly bigger than 8×10 (and I do not have time in an event to cut) but they are definitely the quality I would like to have in any of my prints.

I wish you all the luck in the event photography business and want to hear about the decision you make and the results you get.

Ale

The Canon Selphy is a dye-sub printer that sells for a reasonable price. There is also a portable version of the Selphy that you can throw into your suitcase and take with you on vacation, although the cost per print for these tends to be more than your average photolab (I believe it costs around 35 cents per print for the Selphy).

I work in the Graphic Design industry and we switched from a Fuji dye-sub printer to a large format Epson inkjet, mostly for the cost-per-print issue. Also, the Epson printer has 8 ink cartridges, so we get blacker blacks and richer colour when we use the Epson for colour proofing out photos and we get a better choice of papers. This being a professional-quality inkjet, there is very little image softening and the colours are much truer to life, but the cost of consumables for this printer is probably beyond what the average consumer would want to spend.

For the average consumer, I would probably recommend an inkjet over a dye-sub, mostly for the cost issues. Unless you’re constantly printing large-size prints, then you can probably get away with a good 4- or 6-tank printer. I recommend a Canon, but then I’m biased as I shoot Canon. Have a look at the Canon Pixma line–they run the gamut from a Canon Pixma MP210 2-tank all-in-one for less than $100 up to a Pro9000 photo printer with 8 tanks that runs around $600 and will print up to 11″ x 14″ prints. I personally use an MP210 for day-to-day basic printing as it’s very cheap to run…

http://e36photo.com/workshops.htm

at the bottom of the page are Canon and Nikon specific workshops in addition to the workshops open to all camera brands. I’ve not associated with this organization and have never taken one of these workshops but they do seem reasonably priced.

~Nick