Few months ago, after Canon introduced the EOS 5D Mark II DSLR Camera, I wrote this article, and expressed my thoughts on the effect of digital photography in general and latest developments in 35mm format in particular on the modern photography studio. I used sentences like "The digital photography gains control of the studio" and "The consensus starts to break" in the context of medium vs. 35mm format.
Before I go on with this post let me repeat and emphasize two facts:
1. There is no argument about the advantage that medium format cameras generally have over the 35mm ones.
2. Despite this, 35mm constantly increases its penetration to all areas of the photography industry.
The reason is that although medium format is relatively better, current 35mm cameras simply are good enough for the majority of everyday tasks. You see them on location, you see them inside the studio, you actually see them everywhere... in the hands of amateur photographers, and also in the hands of the leading professionals.
With that said, lets take a look at two anouncements made by two different companies this week. The first, PocketWizard introduced a whole new way of using E-TTL / i-TTL flashes remotely by a specially designed wireless radio system. The second is Canon's new TS (Tilt-Shift) lenses.
Radio Slaves? We've been there already haven't we?
Radio triggers have been around for long time now. They are used in studio and on location, mostly with large studio strobes. Camera flashes have also been around for ages, but in recent years as digital photography and the Internet teamed up, we've witnessed an outburst of creativity in using speedlight flashes off camera, as photographers inspire and get inspired by breathtaking photos presented on websites like Strobist. Many of those talented photographers are merely amateurs, who could not afford to buy the expensive and cumbersome studio flashes, so they used the less expensive speedlights in almost the same way as using the large strobes, modifying and diffusing the concentrated light source they produce. One thing however limited the creativity that can be achieved with the speedlights off camera. The wireless system built into them is based on Infra-Red communication. Good enough if you're shooting indoors, but quite lame if you wish to operate your flash in more complex setups like daylight scenes, or behind / inside objects that block the IR beam. PocketWizard identified the strobist trend and developed a very smart system that brings radio triggering to a new level. PocketWizard's ControlTL supports all of the features integrated into the speedlights. All parameters are transferred to the flash as if it was connected to the camera's hot-shoe. Any change in ISO, aperture, shutter speed and flash compensation is automatically adjusted for. I predict that many event photograpgers who have been using studio flashes and traditional radio triggers will find the ControlTL useful, if not revolutionary.
Canon anounces new tilt and shift lenses.
If the PocketWizard ControlTL system may find its way to both professionals and amateurs photographers bags, the new TS-E lenses Canon announced this week certainly won't.
The TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II is expected to ship in May for an estimated retail price of $2,199.00. The TS-E 17mm f/4L is expected to ship in May for an estimated retail price of $2,499.00. Who'll buy them? Mainly professional photographers. Again, a trend has been identified, and a proper solution offered. Canon realized that many professionals would use their full-frame 35mm cameras even for classic medium-large format assignments, only that they needed the right optics for the most complicated product-architectural-landscape shots. Will we see 35mm conquering architectural photography in the near future?...
