In Focus Blog

Focus sessions are free and take place in the Westwood store from 9:30 am – 10 am and at our Englewood store from 10:30 – 11:00 am. All sessions will allow for questions and answers. Please bring your camera and any images along that you have questions about.  On Focus Sessions marked Westwood only, Englewood will host a general Question and Answer session from 10:30 am – 11:00 am.

Hit the “Like Button” to let your friends know. Have suggestions for future focus sessions? Feel free to leave a comment. (Comments actually work now!)

Here’s our upcoming Focus Sessions:

March 30 – Sensor Cleaning

April 6 – Lakota Wolf Trip Review (Westwood Only)

April 13 – Using LensBaby

April 20 – Using Filters

April 27 – Grounds for Sculpture Trip Review (Westwood Only)

May 4 – Sports Photography

May 11 – Manual Controls

May 18 – Flower Photography

May 25 – Rockland Boulder’s Trip Review (Westwood Only)

June 1 – Bronx Zoo Trip Review (Westwood Only)

June 8 – Portrait Photography

June 15 – Fireworks Photography

June 22 – Longwood Gardens Trip Review (Westwood Only)

June 29 – Fine Art Photography

These are free events – bring a friend along if you’d like. Share with your friends on Facebook – Click the Like button below. Hope you can join us!

Focus sessions are free and take place in the Westwood store from 9:30 am – 10 am and our Englewood location from 10:30 am – 11:00 am. All sessions will allow for questions and answers. Please bring your camera and any images along that you have questions about.

Hit the “Like Button” to let your friends know. Have suggestions for future focus sessions? Feel free to leave a comment.

Here’s our upcoming Focus Sessions:

July 7 – Shooting a Baseball Game from the Stands

July 14 – How to Take Great Party Pictures

July 21 – Lightroom 4 in 30 Minutes

July 28 – Sensor Cleaning

August 4 – Critique Your Images

August 11 – Shooting at The Beach

August 18 – “Blue Hour”/Time Exposure – Shooting at Dusk

These are free events – bring a friend along if you’d like. Share with your friends on Facebook – Click the Like button below. Hope you can join us!

Focus sessions are free and take place in the Westwood store from 9:30 am – 10 am and our Englewood location from 10:30 am – 11:00 am. All sessions will allow for questions and answers. Please bring your camera and any images along that you have questions about.

Hit the “Like Button” to let your friends know. Have suggestions for future focus sessions? Feel free to leave a comment.

Here’s the schedule for January and February:

January 7 – Great Portraits With Your Flash

January 14 – Great Winter Landscape Photos

January 21 – Online Photo Services – How to Use etc.

January 28 – Show Us Your Photos / Critique – All photos in print form

February 4 – Sensor Cleanings

February 11 – Indoor Sports Photography

February 18 – Getting Started with Photo Books

February 25 – Tripods and Monopods

These are free events – bring a friend along if you’d like. Share with your friends on Facebook – Click the Like button below. Hope you can join us!

Focus sessions are free and take place in the Westwood store from 9:30 am - 10 am and our Englewood location from 10:30 am – 11:00 am. All sessions will allow for questions and answers. Please bring your camera and any images along that you have questions about.

Here’s the schedule for August 13 – October 1, 2011

August 13 – All About Camcorders – How To Choose

August 20 – What’s in Your Camera Bag or Should Be

August 27 – Sensor Cleaning

September 3 – Labor Day – No Session

September 10 – Tripods & Monopods

September 17 – How to Photograph at a Vineyard

September 24 – New Jersey Photo Expo tomorrow – No Session

October 1 – Millbrook Winery Trip Review

These are free events - bring a friend along if you’d like. Share with your friends on Facebook – Click the Like button below.

Focus sessions are free and take place in the Westwood store from 9:30 am - 10 am and our Englewood location from 10:30 am – 11:00 am. All sessions will allow for question and answers. Please bring your camera and any images along that you have questions about.

Here’s the schedule for July 2 – August 13, 2011

July 2 – Fireworks Photography

July 9 – Vacation Photography

July 16 – Get Steady – Monopods and Tripods

July 23 – Lenses – From wide and to telephoto – how to select and use.

July 30 - Getting better flash pictures

August 6 – Critique your photos – please bring two prints to discuss what you are doing right and get suggestions to improve

August 13 - Choosing the perfect camcorder

These are free events - bring a friend along if you’d like. Share with your friends on Facebook – Click the Like button below.

Focus sessions are free and take place in the Westwood store from 9:30 – 10 am and our Englewood location from 10:30 am – 11:00 am. All sessions will allow for question and answers. Please bring your camera and any images along that you have questions about.

Here’s the schedule for April and May

April 9 – Learn all about Micro 4/3s cameras then visit us for Olympus demo day in Westwood from 10 am – 4 pm

April 16 – Show us your Photos – Critique – please bring 2 – 3 images for an honest appraisal of your images and how to make them better. (printed photos only – no digital files please)

April 23 – Portraits with your Flash

April 30 – Landscape Photography

May 7 – Outdoor Sports Photography

May 14 – Photography at a Botanical Garden – a great preparation for our Longwood Gardens Trip on May 15

May 21 – Sensor Cleaning How to – Learn what’s needed to clean your sensor. This is a great skill to have as dust always happens when your are least prepared!

May 28 – Get Steady – Monopods and Tripods

These are free events – be sure to bring a friend along if you’d like.

Ever take a picture and have it look like this? We hope not. This is an extreme case of sensor dust — probably as bad as you’ll ever see. Dust is a part of everyday life and getting it on a digital SLR’s imaging sensor is a problem every photographer has to deal with.

We offer a full service sensor cleaning available for $49.99 (DX sized sensors and smaller) or $79.99 (full frame sensors). We’ll take a picture before and after the cleaning, so you can see the results first hand.  We also can show you how to do it on your own, and sell you all of the supplies you’ll need. Either way, sensor cleaning is a regular and expected part of normal maintance on most all digital SLRs.

A DSLR’s sensor carries an electronic charge and it loves dust, just like a tube television. Changing lenses, zooming, even something as minute as focusing can bring dust into the camera. We find the best way to determine exactly how much dust is on your sensor is to take a photo of the sky at f16 or higher. Make sure your camera is set to manual focus – otherwise the lens will keep seeking a focus point. Next, load up your image in Photoshop and enlarge it to 100%. That’ll give you the ability to see every tiny bit of dust that’s plaguing your sensor. Don’t worry if there’s a Boeing 767 on your sensor – it’s most likely just in the sky.

So now that you see the dust, what do you do with it? There’s always the option of cloning out all the dust in Photoshop, but that’s an hour’s worth of time better spent behind the camera. If you have the courage, you can clean the sensor yourself with the right equipment and supplies.

If you decide to try it yourself, check to see if your camera has a “clean sensor” option in the set-up menu. Many DSLRs require you to have a fully charged battery in order to clean the sensor. If the “clean sensor” option is greyed out, a low battery is most likely the reason. Charge your battery fully and give it another go. If you have an older dSLR, it’s possible that it does not have a “clean sensor” option. At that point, in order to access the sensor yourself, your only option is to put the shutter on bulb and clean it that way — but it’s a very risky method. If you accidentally release that shutter while cleaning, it’s going to be a costly repair. Also, the sensor will be activated, increasing the chances of even more dust appearing.

Okay, so now you have access to the sensor. What now? Whatever you do, DO NOT use compressed air to clean your sensor. Many types of compressed air emit tiny particles of liquid propellant which can damage your sensor. Always use products meant specifically for sensor cleaning, such as Sensor Swabs and E2 solution available from BCC. Bulb blowers are a great way to do a quick cleaning; never do a wet cleaning unless it is absolutely necessary. You can even buy small, travel-friendly bulb blowers for cleaning on the go.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to try it yourself, but beware – some camera manufacturers’ warranties become void if you clean the sensor yourself.

If you’re having dust problems please feel free to stop by one of our stores. If you’d like to purchase the cleaning products and try it yourself we’ll be happy to walk you through the process. If you’re more of the butterfingers type and don’t want to risk it, bring your camera into the store and we can clean it for you.

Ever take a picture and have it look like this? Hopefully not. This is an extreme case of sensor dust and probably not half as bad as you’ll ever see. Dust is a part of everyday life and getting it on a digital SLR’s imaging sensor is a problem that every photographer has to deal with.

A DSLR’s sensor has an electronic charge and just like a tube television, it loves dust. Changing lenses, zooming, even something as minute as focusing can bring dust into the camera. I find the best way to determine exactly how much dust is on your sensor is to take a photo of the sky at f16 or higher. Also make sure your camera is set to manual focus – otherwise the lens is going to keep seeking for a focus point. Next, load up your image in photoshop and enlarge it to 100%. That’ll give you the ability to see every tiny bit of dust that’s plaguing your sensor. Don’t worry if there’s a Boeing 747 on your sensor – it’s most likely just in the sky.

So now that you see the dust, what do you do with it? There’s always the option of cloning out all the dust in photoshop, but that’s an hour’s worth of time that’s better spent behind the camera. If you have the courage you can clean the sensor yourself with the right equipment and supplies.

If you decide to try it yourself, check to see if your camera has a “clean sensor” option under the set-up menu. Many DSLR’s require you to have a fully charged battery in order to clean the sensor. If the “clean sensor” option is greyed out, that is most likely the case. Charge your battery fully and give it another go. If you have an older SLR, it is possible that it does not have a “clean sensor” option. At that point, in order to access the sensor yourself, your only option is to put the shutter on bulb and clean it that way. It’s a way to do it but it’s very risky. If you accidentally release that shutter while cleaning it’s going to be a costly repair. Also the sensor will be activated, which will increase the chances of more dust appearing.

Okay, so now you have access to the sensor. What now? Whatever you do, DO NOT use compressed air to clean your sensor. Many types of compressed air emit tiny particles of liquid propellant which can damage your sensor. Always use products meant specifically for sensor cleaning, such as Sensor Swabs and E2 solution by a company called Photographic Solutions. Bulb blowers are a great way to do a quick cleaning – never do a wet cleaning unless it is absolutely necessary. You can even buy small, travel-friendly bulb blowers for cleaning on the go.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to try it yourself, but be aware – Some camera manufacterer’s warranties become void if you clean the sensor yourself.

If you’re having dust problems please feel free to stop by the store. If you’d like to purchase the cleaning products and try it yourself we’d be more than happy to walk you through the process. If you’re more of the butterfingers type and don’t want to risk it, bring your camera into the store and we can clean it for you.