There are some basic rules to taking good photographs, but as we hear so often; rules are made to be broken. So, if you want to break the rules in your photography, it’s a good ides to know what they are are in the first place.
Rule of thirds
Lets start with the rule of thirds; one of the basic rules to good composition. But I don’t need to cover that here, just check out our other post ‘Beginners guide to the rule of thirds’ with some good examples.
Another important basic rule: avoid putting your horizon in the centre of your image, and just as important (or even more important); keep your horizon level. It doesn’t matter if the subject looks good, the colours are spot-on, with a good sense of depth and the image is crisp and sharp; if the horizon’s crooked, viewers will just pass it by. There are different ways to get a level horizon, the first is to use a Tripod if yours has a spirit level, you can use that, some digital camer’s have a ‘rule of thirds’ grid, this is also quite a handy way to get a level horizon. If you’ve already downloaded your images to your computer only to find that the horizon is not level (sometimes it can be hard to tell through the camera’s lcd screen) then it’s easy to rectify on even the most basic image editing software.
Try using ‘lines’ to lead the viewer’s eye to a focal point in your image; they could be rivers, roads, paths, fences or even telephone wires. By adding a leading line to a subject, a viewers eye will naturally follow it.
Just look around you and you’ll find patterns and symmetry everywhere to photograph, in the natural world and man-made. From architecture to a spiders web to a snow flake, you just have to train your eye to find them. Many photographers already have the talent and an ‘eye’ for finding patterns and symmetry in the world around them, but for those of us that haven’t, try looking for repeated lines and curves, if it’s a building or large structure, try zooming-in on a particular area where you can see a pattern using a Telephoto Lens. Try a Macro shot of a leaf rather than the whole tree. Once you begin finding patterns, you’ll see them everywhere.
Background
Pay particular attention to your background. If you’re trying to isolate your subject, such as a portrait shot of someone outside, try looking for a suitable background that will not take the viewers attention away from the main subject, if this isn’t possible (perhaps in a crowd of people) then use a larger aperture (lower f/stop number) to keep your subject in sharp focus and everything else nicely blurry and out of focus. If, on the other hand, you would like to keep the subject and the background in focus, such as photographing someone before a famous landmark, then you’ll need a small aperture (high f/stop number) to get everything in focus.The same applys indoors; try avoiding a cluttered background that will distract the viewers attention.
There are many ways to frame your subject; perhaps a scene through a window, through an archway or a subject through trees and plants, there are as many ways of framing a picture as your imagination allows. Make the main subject the brightest part of your image to lead the viewers eye in. By framing your picture you will help to isolate the main subject.
Try shooting from a different viewpoint; maybe from a higher or lower angle.Try holding your camera in potrait and horizontal mode, or even at an angle. Let your photographs tell a story; allow the viewer to contemplate what may be going on in your image, but above all, experiment with composition your photography.
It has been a crazy month in the drone world. First there was Photokina 2016, then the release of GoPro’s Karma drone, and lastly DJI unveiled its Mavic Pro compact Drone. Some serious competitors for the best beginner drone just hit the market. What better time to do a DJI Mavic Pro vs GoPro karma drone review? So what better way to help you decide than pitting them against each other? This is an unbiased review of the DJI Mavic Pro VS Gopro Karma Drone. Who will be the winner?? Are you ready for a dogfight?
DJI Mavic Pro vs GoPro Karma who is the Smallest and Fastest
The DJI Mavic Pro when folded up is just a hair bigger than the new iPhone 7+ box, it is actually small enough to fit into Casey Neisat’s pocket. Don’t believe me watch his video below. Official dimensions are 83mm x 83mm x 198mm (HxWxL), the mavic pro drone weighs in at 743grams.
The GoPro Karma was the first drone that could actually fit into a back pack. That is unitl DJI released the Mavic Pro. The with tKarma is 89.3mm x 224.3mm x 365.2mm (HxWxL) and weighs in at 1006grams. Slightly wider and heavier than its DJI counterpart. To be fair here is Casey playing with the GoPro Karma drone.
Top speed of each drones is as follows: DJI Mavic Pro – 40mph GoPro Karma – 35mph
The Smallest and Fastest Winner – DJI Mavic Pro no questions asked. It is smaller and faster than the GoPro karma.
DJI Mavic Pro vs GoPro Karma Flying Time and Flying Range (distance):
DJI claims a flight time of 27minutes and a maximum flying distance of 8miles or 13km. How is this even possible?? DJI relies on OcuSync long-range-transmission technology, which is capable of relaying a signal up to 4.3 miles with line-of-sight all while transmitting 720p HD video. 1080p HD transmission is possible in the short range mode.
But how does the DJI cover 8 miles??
The OcuSync scans a range of available frequencies to find the one with the least interference and use it to give you more reliability and control over the quadcopter. Another feature of the OcuSync is that it transfers vital statistics of the Mavic Pro to you in real time while you are flying. You can also download photos and videos up to 40Mbps while flying as well.
DJI also offers the DJI Go App for smartphones which you can use to control the drone at short ranges. If you want to extend the Mavic Pro to its limits you will need to add a tiny remote controller which increases the range by 4 miles or 7km, you can link a mobile device to it and view a live feed in 1080p from the drone.
The GoPro Karma has an estimated flight time of 20minutes and the control range is limited to 0.6 miles or 0.97km
Winner of DJI Mavic Pro vs GoPro Karma review, Flight distance and Flight time challenge: DJI Mavic Pro drone, it flies longer and almost 8 times further than the GoPro can.
DJI Mavic Pro vs GoPro Karma Camera and Gimbal Challenge:
The GoPro Karma comes without a camera but can be fitted with either the new Hero 5 Session or the GoPro Hero 5. For comparison purposes we will use the Hero 5 camera. The GoPro Hero 5 with a 12MP CMOS sensor that is capable of capturing UHD (3840 x 2160) and comes with a range of FOV (Field Of View) options. The widest being 17.2mm and the narrowest is 34.4mm, with a medium FOV setting of 21.9mm also available. The camera has a f/2.8 aperture.
In 2.7K widescreen and lower resolutions you can use narrower FOV options including Medium, Narrow, and the new Linear mode (only available in 2.7K and 1080p settings), which corrects the lens’s barrel distortion. The Karma has the ability to manually control the ISO and shutter speeds.
GoPro also allows you to shoot in the Protune mode which gives you more flexibility when it comes to grading your footage. The GoPro Hero 5 can capture up to 120fps in Full HD. The GoPro Hero 5 records at up to 60 Mbps.
The DJI Mavic Pro uses a DCI 4K (4096 x 2160) capable 1/2.3” CMOS camera with a 28 mm f/2.2 lens that has a FOV of 78.8°. The minimum focus distance is 50cm or 1.6ft and it records up to 60 Mbps in MP4, MOV (MPEG-4 AVC/H.264). It can capture up to 96fps in Full HD, but in DCI 4K you are limited to only 24fps.
When DJI introduced the mavic pro then introduced something else pretty spectacular that day too. The New 3-axis gimbal on the Mavic Pro is smallest high-precision gimbal DJI has ever produced. The Mavic drone has brushless motors on all three axis to eliminate shake caused by movements of the drone. One kicker, it is non removable, yep it can’t be removed from the drone like the gimbal on the GoPro karma.
The Karma has a detachable gimbal that can be used with the Karma motorized grip when removed from the drone. This allows you to capture solid stable footage on the ground as well as in the air. The karma handheld grip gives you full functionality over the camera while shooting, including shutter speed, ISO, and file format.
GoPro Karma Drone vs DJI Mavic Pro Camera and Gimbal Challenge Winner: GoPro Karma. GoPro’s detachable gimbal, wide array of FOV options and Protune its hard not to choose GoPro here.
DJI Mavic Pro vs GoPro Karma Features:
Never have we seen so many features packed into such a small drone? The Mavic Pro is loaded with all kinds of features from collision avoidance, GPS, ultrasound, dual redundant IMUs and Active Track Subject Tracking modes. They also added a new selfie mode with gestures to control the camera and a tripod mode that caps the maxium speed at 2.2mph.
DJI dulled the stick sensitivity of the remote controller to allow for better framing while filming, but this also helps you for flying indoors or other small spaces where higher speeds make it more challenging to fly a drone indoors.
DJI added a new Terrain Follow mode that uses hight measurements gathered bye the ultrasound sensors and the downward facing cmaeras to keep the drone flying at the same height above you regardless if you are going uphill or downhill. The Mavic will maintain the same distance from you.
Lets talk about the GoPro Karma’s features. First off the Karma does not have a colision avoidance system, this is going to be a huge downfall for first time flyers or if you are considering the karma for your beginner drone. However the Karam does have the Gopro Passenger App. The app allows one person to fly the drone while aonther uses the app to control and change the camera settings. The Karma is lacking in features when you compare it to the Mavic Pro, however they might have a decent niche market nailed down with filmmakers. As one person can focus on flying while another makes sure you get a perfect shot.
Some other features the Karma includes is the Auto Take off and Auto Landing, Return to Home, and return to Home when you lose signal or battery is running low. GoPro also built in a new set of Auto shot paths such as Orbit, Cable Cam, Reveal and Dronie. But they didn’t include a follow me function one thing the DJI mavic pro drone does have.
GoPro Karma vs DJI Mavic Pro Features Winner: DJI Mavic Pro, with the collision avoidance system and the follow me shot feature the DJI wins out here. Although we think GoPro might secure a new niche market with filmmakers with the new GoPro Passenger App.
DJI Mavic Pro Drone vs GoPro Karma Drone Remote controls:
The Karma uses an X-box inspired gamepad controller to fly the drone. Included is a flip up touch screen that is small and compact compared to drone controllers of the past. Unlike the Mavic the Karma has a built in touch screen. With the Mavic Pro you have to use your smart phone or tablet to be able to view the camera on the drone while flying. The Karma’s controller is limited to 3,280ft or 1,000 meters.
The DJI Mavic uses DJI Go app to control your Mavic while flying. When you connect your smartphone or tablet to the Mavic Pro it shows you everything the quadcopter sees in real time. The Mavic also has a feature that alloys you to fly the drone without the controller and use virtual joysticks on your smartphone or tablet. The Mavic also gives you full access of all its intelligent flight modes, TapFly, Trace, Spotlight, Profile, and Circle right from your phone. The mavic pro has a control range of 4.3miles.
GoPro Karma vs DJI Mavic Remote Control Winner: Tie
GoPro Karma vs DJI Mavic Pro Price battle:
The DJI Mavic Pro is $999 US, and includes:
DJI Mavic Pro
Remote Controller
Intelligent Flight Battery for Mavic Quadcopter
3 x 8330 Quick-Release Folding Propellers for Mavic Drone
Gimbal Clamp
Charger
AC Power Cable for Charger
16GB microSD Card
Micro-USB Cable
RC Cable with Lightning Connector
RC Cable with Micro-USB Connector
2 x RC Cable Slider
The GoPro Karma is $1099.99 US, and includes:
Karma Quadcopter with Harness for HERO5 Black
Karma Harness for GoPro HERO5 Black
Karma Controller with Touch Display
Karma Stabilizer
Karma Grip Handle
Karma Charger
Karma Battery
6 x Propellers
Karma Mounting Ring
Karma Case
Limited 1-Year Warranty
HERO5 Black
The Frame for HERO5 Black
Rechargeable Battery for HERO5 Black
Curved Adhesive Mount
Flat Adhesive Mount
Mounting Buckle
USB Cablle
DJI Mavic Pro vs GoPro Karma Price Winner:
Tie, The GoPro Karma looks like the better value upfront. I mean after all you get the drone and removable gimbal and camera for only $100 more than the DJI. But if you are in the market for your first drone then the removable gimbal is just and added bonus. I would put my decision more heavily on the collision avoidance system in the DJI. It si definitely going to save you some money in the long run. .
Conclusion:
So which drone is the best drone for you. Well if this is going to be your first drone purchase then I would go with the DJI Mavic Pro. If you are going to use the drone for commercial or sport related events then the Karma is the clear winner. The Hero 5 Camera is a winner in itself, pair it with the karma drone and removable gimbal and I guarantee you can capture some awesome shots.
Comment below and tell us what you think.
Sony Alpha, also rendered Sony α (Greek letter alpha), is a digital SLR camera system introduced on 5 June 2006. It utilizes and expands upon Konica Minolta camera technologies, including the Minolta AF SLR lens mount, whose assets were acquired by Sony after the end of Minolta’s camera operations in early 2006.
Continuing our roundups of the top lenses, today we take a look at Sony Alpha lenses – The list was compiled by comparing the top ratings and user reviews on the Amazon.com website.
1. Sony 75-300mm f/4.5-5.6
Get extremely close to your subjects from a relaxing distance with this Sony 75-300mm super telephoto zoom lens. Great for taking incredibly close-up portraits without making your subject nervous, the compact, lightweight 4x zoom lens is a terrific value and an ideal choice for covering outdoor activities and sports action, even in large stadium locations.
Get incredibly close to small subjects with the Sony 100mm macro lens, which delivers professional results in almost any shooting situation. The versatile macro focus lens covers a wide range of photographic applications, from close-up nature subjects to midrange telephoto shots, making it ideal for carrying on location or in the field.
The SAL70400G lens is a 5.7x super telephoto zoom lens and the latest addition to Sony’s G-series line of premium lenses. Designed to deliver extremely sharp descriptive performance across its wide focal length range, it is ideally suited for sports, action and wildlife photography.
The Sony Carl Zeiss SAL-85F14Z lens is a brilliant lens for portraits, low light and midrange telephoto shooting. It’s a beautiful piece of glass–and for intimate or low-light portraits, fashion shots, and quick candid photographs with superior visual accuracy, this professional lens will satisfy the most uncompromising demands.
A precision zoom lens with bright aperture and fast, quiet auto-focus response. Specially designed for the APS-size CCD imager of the Sony Alpha DSLR-A100 camera, this superb G-Series zoom lens covers a broad range of frequent telephoto shooting situations.
The perfect lens for fast shooting — interiors, crowd scenes and more. With the capability to focus quickly and zoom from super-wide-angle to wide-angle, this lens captures interior scenes with greater flexibility and handles fast action in close environments.
Get incredibly close to small subjects with the Sony SAL-50M28 macro lens. It allows you to easily capture the most subtle details with spectacular clarity. A compact macro-focus lens that covers the full range from life-size to infinity. “Life size” macro imaging means that the image you capture is the same size as the subject in reality, giving you spectacularly sharp photos of insects, flowers, gemstones, postage stamps and other small nature subjects and collectibles.
A superb zoom lens for everyday photography — the lens you’ll put on, and leave on. This superb standard lens for the Sony Alpha DSLR-A100 camera handles the full range of shots you’ll take most often — but there’s nothing “standard” about its advanced optical design. In 35mm equivalent, it covers wide-angle 27mm to 105mm midrange telephoto for snapshots, portraits, interiors,+ and more — an excellent all-around lens to travel with.
Experience the amazing image quality of the Carl Zeiss® SAL-135F18Z telephoto lens. Its wide range can handle images that are miles or inches away. A high-performance telephoto lens with the widest aperture in its class. Whether you’re shooting a distant mountain peak or a beautiful orchid at arm’s length, this superb telephoto lens provides amazing image quality.
A zoom lens with higher magnification for shooting effectively at greater distances. Specially designed for the APS-size CCD imager of the Sony Alpha DSLR-A100 camera, this is the standard zoom lens that brings you closer to your subject. With superior all-in-one lens performance for everyday shooting, its 35mm-equivalent range of 27mm wide-angle to 300mm telephoto excels at capturing faraway subjects, sports events, dramatic landscapes and intimate close-up views.
Get a fascinating perspective on landscapes, cities, crowds, and special events with the Sony SAL-16F28 16mm fisheye lens. Designed for Sony Alpha digital SLR cameras, the unique lens offers a 180-degree angle of view and extraordinary corner-to-corner sharpness.
For definitive long-shot precision and spectacular portraits even in low light, this professional G-Series lens raises the standard of DLSR performance. Its 35mm-equivalent 450mm focal length and ultra-bright f2.8 aperture combine for superb results in virtually any light–and its high-speed SSM (Super Sonic wave Motor) autofocus is fast, accurate, and quiet.
It delivers a super-wide 94-degree angle of view, corrects visual aberrations from about 10 inches to infinity, and provides deep depth of field for complex shots that maintain sharp focus in both close foreground and far background. Mounted on the Sony α (Alpha) DSLR-A100 camera, this beautiful wide-angle lens achieves a 70-degree angle of view with 30mm focal length (35mm equivalent).
Enjoy superb value from the SAL-28f28 wide-angle lens, an excellent choice for sharp, high-contrast shots whether you’re working indoors, shooting people in groups, or hoping to take panoramic shots of landscapes and urban scenes. The 28mm lens–which mounts easily on a Sony Alpha DSLR-A100 camera–provides a near-standard 42mm focal length (35mm equivalent), with wide-angle optics and a deep depth of field.
The Sony SAL-500F80 is the world’s only super telephoto reflex lens with auto-focus capability. Its reflex design gives this amazing super telephoto lens a short barrel and compact, lightweight design, ideal for field work on wilderness and nature assignments–and its auto-focus capability makes it unique among reflex lenses of this class.
What you carry in your kit will depend on the type of photography you like to do. If you’re going on safari or you’re the main photographer at a wedding then your going to need to carry some kit that most of us won’t need, but there are basic things that we all should carry in our kit to make life easier and to make sure we don’t miss a photographic opportunity.
Have a look at our post we did the other day about camera bags, you will need one to carry your equipment.
Pack a Spare!
Have you ever been out with your camera and found something really worthwhile photographing, only to find that your battery indicator starts blinking red and you forgot to pack a spare one!, well, me too. Ok, so it might not have happened to me recently because over the years, I’ve learned my lesson, but I still get caught out now and then. So now I make sure I carry all that I think I’ll need in my kit.
Battery
As I’ve already mentioned, carrying a spare battery is important, particularly if you’re using your flash often, or shooting in really cold conditions when the battery’s charge doesn’t last as long as it normally would. It’s worth buying a manufacturers own genuine battery as a spare, Be careful when buying cheap replacement batteries off the Internet, at best they may have less capacity than advertised and at worst could represent a fire hazard.
Memory Cards
The capacity of the memory card you buy (and how many) will depend on the type of photography you do.If you only shoot with the small jpeg setting, then your memory card will hold far more images than if you were shooting in raw mode, for example: a 1gb memory card may hold 286 medium jpeg images but only 67 raw images and if you’re shooting in the video mode then you may only get about 10m 40secs of play time. I don’t like to put all my eggs in one basket when it comes to memory cards, in other words I don’t buy the very high capacity ones just in case they fail, I use several smaller capacity ones. So, if you’re shooting in raw, or using video mode often and, depending on the size of your memory card, you will need to carry a spare.
Filters
You may have a filter already attached to your lens to protect it such as a UV filter or a skylight filter, but if you enjoy shooting landscapes that includes water, such as ponds, lakes and rivers, then you might include a polarizing filter to help improve colour saturation and eliminate reflections on water or glass. Other popular filters with photographers are neutral density filter (ND) and the graduated neutral density filter (GND). The ND filter is used when you want to limit the light reaching the sensor without reducing the aperture (such as on a bright, sunny day); good for effects, such as blurring water in a waterfall. The GND filter is generally used for landscape shots; when, for example, you want to darken an otherwise bright sky.
What’s in my Bag?
Here’s are a few other things that I carry in my kit:
Lenses
Tripod
Hama lens cleaning pen/brush
Micro fibre cloth and lens tissues
Lens/filter cleaning fluid
Remote cable release
Small torch
External flash
Compass
Penknife
Sunglasses
Bottle of water
Mobile (cell) phone
Maybe you can add other items to the list of what you carry, or perhaps you prefer the simplicity of just your camera and a good ‘walk-about’ lens without the burden of carrying all that ‘stuff’. But whatever you carry in your kit, it’s worth planning for any eventuality.
I love randomness and strange qualities of lomo-style photos but just what is Lomography ? Taken from the Lomography.com website ..
It began with a fateful encounter in the early 1990s, when two students in Vienna, Austria, stumbled upon the Lomo Kompakt Automat – a small, enigmatic Russian camera. Mindlessly taking shots from the hip, and sometimes looking through the viewfinder, they were astounded with the mindblowing photos that it produced – the colours were vibrant, with deep saturation and vignettes that framed the shot – it was nothing like they had seen before! Upon returning home, friends wanted their own Lomo LC-A, igniting a new style of artistic experimental photography that we now know as Lomography!
This roundup is the bext examples of Lomo photography from users on Flickr.com
It has been a crazy month in the drone world. First there was 
When DJI introduced the mavic pro then introduced something else pretty spectacular that day too. The New 3-axis gimbal on the Mavic Pro is smallest high-precision gimbal DJI has ever produced. The Mavic drone has brushless motors on all three axis to eliminate shake caused by movements of the drone. One kicker, it is non removable, yep it can’t be removed from the drone like the gimbal on the GoPro karma.
The GoPro Karma is $1099.99 US, and includes:
