Congratulations to Mel DiGiacomo on being inducted to the Eastern Tennis Hall of Fame! A pioneer in the photo industry and a great friend to our store. Learn more about Mel’s achievement on NorthJersey.com.
Author: Alfred Hess
Five Must-Have Lenses For All Photographers
Is your camera sitting on the shelf at home? Lost your inspiration? Wondering how to take better photos? A new lens might be exactly what you need. What lens you are using is just as important as your camera in terms of quality and look of your image. We’ve compiled five lens types which all photographers should have to fully utilize their camera.
1. Standard Zoom Lens – Odds are you own a lens like this lens already. These lenses are designed for everyday use ranging in zoom from wide to normal ranges. (i.e. 18-55mm)
Looking to upgrade? Try the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8, Canon 24-70mm f/4, or the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8.
2. Telephoto Zoom Lens – Naturally the second lens photographers usually purchase, this lens extends the zoom range to capture subjects in the distance. (i.e. 55-250mm, 55-200mm, 55-300mm, 70-300mm)
Purchase a Canon 55-250mm or a Nikon 55-300.
Looking to Upgrade? Try the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 or Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8.
3. Low Aperture Prime Lens – These lenses do not zoom but are ideal for low light shooting and portraits creating that dreamy background bokeh. (i.e. 50mm f/1.8, 85mm f/1.4)
Purchase a Canon 50mm f/1.8 II or a Nikon 50mm f/1.8.
Looking to Upgrade? Try the Canon 85mm f/1.2 or Nikon 85mm f/1.4.
4. Wide Angle Lens – These lenses are ideal for landscape photography and any shooting situation where space is limited. (i.e. 10-24mm, 10-18mm, 10-22mm)
Purchase a Canon 10-18mm or a Nikon 10-24mm.
Looking to Upgrade? Try the Canon 11-24mm f/4 or the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8.
5. All in One Lens – These are great lenses for situations where you are unable to change lenses, whether by environment or time. They give a range from wide angle to telephoto zoom capturing both subjects near and far. (i.e. 16-300mm, 18-270mm, 18-200mm, 18-300mm)
Purchase a Tamron 18-270mm lens available for Nikon or Canon mount or a 16-300mm lens available for Nikon or Canon mount.
Other Lenses To Consider
6. Macro Lens – Ideal for extreme close ups. View detail on extremely small items. Great for flowers, insects, jewelry, and more.
Purchase a Canon 60mm f/2.8 Macro Lens or a Nikon 40mm f/2.8 Micro lens.
Looking to Upgrade? Try the Canon 100mm f/2.8 L or Nikon 105mm f/2.8.
7. Video Lens – Canon recently introduced STM motor lenses which will autofocus quietly and smoothly for video.
Purchase a Canon 40mm f/2.8 STM lens.
Want to try it before you buy it? Visit Bergen County Camera to learn about and test all these lenses and more!
Olympus Demo Day – Saturday, May 16th
Olympus representatives will be in the store to answer all your questions this Saturday, May 16th. Visit Bergen County Camera to try Olympus’ latest cameras and lenses like the new OM-D E-M5 Mark II. No sign up needed.
New Lower Print Prices!
Due to a reduction in the cost of our printing materials, we’ve dropped our instant print prices by as much as 50%! The same great quality, available both online or in store, now at lower prices. Price drop on instant prints only. Prices not valid on next day orders.
Lytro Illum
The invention of photography gave us the power to capture our most beautiful, tragic and thought-provoking moments. But traditional cameras only capture part of a story. What if we could look deeper? What if we could tell the full story of a moment captured in time?
Now, with a single exposure from Lytro ILLUM, you can adjust aperture, use selective focus, tilt, focus spread, animation and even 3D to differentiate yourself with multiple deliverables.
The many ways to tell your story.
In addition to exporting your images as JPG, TIFF and light field RAW files, you can also share your light field pictures as Living Pictures, custom animations, in 3D, or as traditional 2D images.
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2D Living Picture at ƒ/1
Entirely new yet surprisingly familiar.
Integrate light field pictures into your existing repertoire. Lytro ILLUM is designed to connect with your peripherals and mobile devices seamlessly – Flashes, PCs, Macs, and your iOS mobile devices.
Upload Living Pictures by wirelessly syncing with your smartphone or tablet – anywhere, anytime.
All the power you need in one single lens.
LYTRO ILLUM’S 8× optical zoom lens has a constant f/2.0 aperture throughout the 30-250mm range, so you can take pictures from almost anywhere with one lens. These breakthrough optics enable you to shoot from close-focus macro to optical infinity, without ever having to change your lens. And weighing in at just half a pound, you’ll have precise and agile control over any shot.
The tools to bring your pictures to life.
Shoot. Edit. Share. The LYTRO ILLUM camera comes with Lytro Desktop, which lets you easily import, customize and share your living pictures. Bring your pictures to life by adjusting aperture, tilting and rotating the focal plane, and even create cinematic animations. Immerse yourself even deeper into your living pictures by instantly viewing them in 3D. Your dynamic stories can now be easily shared on social networks or embedded online in an interactive player.
Mobile App
Capture your living pictures; then take them with you wherever you go with the new Lytro Mobile App. The app is now even easier to use: simply tilt your mobile device and watch your pictures come to life. Then with a tap, easily share to Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter.
Mylio: The Next Generation Photo Management System
All of Your Photos. All of Your Devices. Always Protected.
Say hello to Mylio: the next generation photo management system.
Visit Bergen County Camera now to learn all about Mylio, the latest photo management software, and how it can help you organize, maintain, and share your photos on all your devices.
Every Photo. Everywhere.
Mylio helps you gather, organize and access all of your photos so you can enjoy them on all your computers and devices, with or without the cloud.
Whether your photo library represents your lifetime or your livelihood, Mylio is the only photography management software system that allows you to organize and access large photo libraries anytime, anywhere.
Peace of Mind. Automatically.
Mylio automatically manages multiple copies of your photo library. Your new photos are protected because Mylio automatically copies them to several devices, hard drives or the cloud.
Mylio’s protection service works with your ideal backup strategy: local or remote devices, hard drives, the Mylio Cloud Service, or all of the above. Your photo library is yours. Your photos and information are always private and never shared.
Photo Tripper
Whether it’s a family vacation or a professional photo shoot, Mylio protects your photos on multiple devices, even when you’re on the road.
The Mylio Device Network syncs and protects your images when you’re on the road and have limited or no Internet access.
When you return, your photos are automatically in your photo library, organized and ready to enjoy on your devices. Mylio’s done all the work.
Simple and Elegant
Mylio was designed from the ground up with a simple, elegant interface that looks and acts the same, whether you’re using it on a desktop computer, tablet or phone.
The Mylio user interface enables you to work quickly and naturally with the mouse, touch or both at the same time!
Powerfully Fast
Mylio can handle a lifetime of photographs without sacrificing speed or performance. Whether you have a thousand photos or hundreds of thousands, Mylio won’t slow you or your devices down.
Works & Plays Well with Others
Mylio works with what you have, complementing your Lightroom, Photoshop or Aperture workflow. Import photos and collections from Facebook, Flickr and iPhoto. You can quickly share any photo or album on Facebook and Flickr.
Price
Visit Bergen County Camera today to learn more about how Mylio can make organizing your photos easier.
Nikon Demo Day – This Saturday, May 9th
Visit Bergen County Camera this Saturday, May 9th from 10 AM until 4 PM to have all your questions answered by Nikon representatives. Learn all about how the latest Nikon cameras and lenses can improve your photography. No need to sign up.
Long Exposure Photography
The first cameras ever made would only shoot long exposure photographs. These cameras could only capture low levels of light over a prolonged amount of time. The first known photograph of a person “Boulevard du Temple” was taken by coincidence in 1838. A gentleman just happened to get his shoes shined while the photograph was being taken. This anonymous figure stood just still enough for just long enough to appear in the final image.
Long exposure photography involved forcing your camera to shoot images at slower then needed shutter speeds in order to create a motion effect. Long exposure photographs can produce smooth or milky water, light trails, and moving object disappearing from the final image.
Depending on when you are taking your long exposure photograph, you will need the following items:
- A Camera with manual setting
- Tripod
- Neutral Density Filter (during the day)
- A remote release (Either wired or wireless)
There are a few ways to slow down your shutter speed without overexposing your photograph. You can lower your ISO, close down your aperture (f/8-f22), or use neutral density filters. Due to the shutter speed being slow, a tripod is needed to prevent motion blur on your subject.
To take a long exposure photograph, place your camera into aperture priority or manual mode. In aperture priority your camera will choose a proper shutter speed based upon what you set the aperture and ISO to in your camera. If you set your ISO to 100 and raise the aperture to close down the lens (f/18 or f/22) your camera will be forced to take a photo at a slower shutter speed. The same effect can be created by manually setting the ISO, aperture, and shutter speed but you will be forced to meter your image instead of the camera.
When photographing water during the day, place your camera on a tripod and use a neutral density filter. Neutral density filters will allow less light to pass through your lens. There are several different levels of neutral density filters each blocking more amount then the previous. ( 4x, 8x, 16x, 32x, 400x, 1000x) Variable Neutral Density filters also are available. These allow the photographer to select how much light to let through.
When shooting Long Exposure photographs at night, the neutral density filter is often not needed. The camera can be placed upon a tripod and shot using whatever light is available. However, on nights when the moon is full or when you’re near other light sources the desired effect cannot be accomplished. In those situations a Neutral Density Filter can be used.
The effects accomplished by shooting long exposure photographs in the right places can be amazing. Recently a photographer named Christopher Thomas shot long exposure photographs of New York city which make the city look abandoned. Michael Massaia, one of the artists represented by Gallery 270, has created several absolutely stunning photographs, including several photos in his “Afterlife portfolio, using long exposure techniques.
To learn more about long exposure photography stop into Bergen County Camera, comment below, or send us a message on Facebook. We’re here to help!
Visit Bergen County Camera this Thursday night, April 30th, between 6 PM and 9 PM to save 20% on all Promaster Camera batteries and filters. (including Neutral Density filters!)
Canon Discovery Day
Join Bergen County Camera at the Westwood Woman’s Club on Saturday, May 2nd, 2015 from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
Tickets are $25 per person
Enter the world of the EOS digital SLR photography and learn how to take great pictures with your camera. We will help you feel comfortable moving out of the “automatic” mode, so you can be more creative and enhance your photographic expression.
You will see many examples of great photography and learn techniques to produce better imagery. We will also explore the different types of lenses and show examples of what they can do. Our Basic 101 Discovery Day class is part 1 in a module that focuses on button location, terminology, and lens options which controlling how an image looks.
During this class you will:
- Learn terminology that is relevant to your camera
- Become familiar with the button layout and operation of your EOS camera
- Explore what the basic buttons and dials control and how they can affect your image
- Customize the “My Menu” so that when that photographic moment presents itself, you can capture it
- Experience Live View Shooting and learn how it can be used effectively
- Learn how to care for your equipment so that you can get the most out of your investment
- Learn all about Canon lenses and how a lens choice affects your image
- Experience the full input to output solution that Canon has to offer with our EOS DSLR’s and PIXMA printers
- Have a first look at the software that came with your camera and see the benefits it has for your photography
- Find out what additional resources that Canon has to offer you along your photographic journey
All class attendees will receive a Bergen County Camera giftcard valued at $10.00.
If that giftcard is used at Bergen County Camera during the Canon Demo Day on Saturday, May 2nd from 1:00 PM until 3:00 PM, Bergen County Camera will double the value of your giftcard ($20.00).
Thursday Night Special – April 30th
This week’s Thursday night special is great for anyone who owns a camera. Shop Bergen County Camera from 6 PM until 9 PM on Thursday and save 20% on all Promaster filters and rechargeable camera batteries. Discover new ways to enhance your photography with different Promaster lens filters. Plus, pick up a back up battery and keep your camera shooting longer. All Promaster rechargeable camera batteries come with lifetime guarantees which ensure that you will have a back up battery for the life of your camera.