The basics of lenses-USM

USM

USM is simple enough like IS it is an anagram for Ultrasonic Motor

When you focus a camera there are a lot of moving parts. Ultrasonic Motor means that the motor moving your Len's elements is going to be silent or at least close to it.

In other manufacturers other then canon it goes by other names

• Tamron- USD which means Ultrasonic Drive
• Sigma- HSM which means Hyper-Sonic Motor

WHY SHOULD YOU CARE

It all depends on what kind of photographer you are going to be.

As a sports photographer in football no one cares if you lens makes a little bit of a hum. But in golf they might care.

If you are a landscape photographer you might not care, unless you are scaring away the birds.

 

The truth is USM is just one of those mostly useless "EXTRAS" lens manufacturers put into lenses so they can add a $100 extra to the price tag.  So most lenses have them but for a lot of those lenses who cares.

The basics of lenses-IS

IS stands for Image Stabilizer

IS is just what canon calls it, other lens manufacturers have different names for it I will list what they are called below 

Tamron- VC- Which stands for Vibration Compensation

Sigma- OS- Which stands for Optical Image Stabilizer

There are other brands but Purchase at your own risk! I have never used anything other then Canon Tamron and Sigma

What is Image Stabilizer

Have you ever zoomed in with your phone? Well if you saw my last post you better not anymore! Have you noticed how hard it is to take a picture? Everything is moving all over the place. To get a clear picture you have to hold soooooo still.

Image stabilizer helps with this. In canon lenses it works by having an Element (lens) inside your lens Float...  It is more complicated then that but all you need to know is it makes your view thru the camera more steady.

Now remember, back to your phone when your camera is not zoomed the motion of your hand is still there it just isn't as noticeable. When you zoom in it is just far more noticeable.  A small movement on that zoom becomes a very large movement.

 In the above picture we have blue, my son's stuffed animal elephant. I took this picture at some distance while trying to hold a struggling baby. You can see from the picture that there is some shake. 

Another thing to keep in mind is low light, this will force you to shoot at lower Shutter Speeds that will make the shake even more noticeable. We will get into shutter speed more at a later date. This is a big deal in sports especially in bad lighting like under lights.

Things to keep in mind

• The more your lens zooms the more sensitive to movement your lens is 
• If you are buying in the 18-70mm lens range and you have steady hands you probably don't need IS

Now if you plan on shooting a lot at higher MM like 70-200 there is a few ways you can get away without IS

• Use a mono pod
• Steady yourself on a wall
• Use a Tripod

My favorite and cheapest lens I ever purchased was a Tamron 70-210mm non-IS lens (when you look things up online and they don't have IS they are usually put down as non-is so that when you look up IS lenses they pop up 👿). I used it for an entire season of HS football, and let me tell you HS football is freakishly dark and I got away with just using a mono pod.
    But for some situations it would be just awkward to use a mono pod, like basketball or maybe some other indoor sports.

The Basics of Lenses- Zoom

Before I get into all the complicated stuff about the lenses you need to buy, I need to help you understand what a lens is. Today's topic is

ZOOM

Have you ever zoomed in with your cell phone? When you took the picture did it turn out really bad? Have you ever wondered why?  That is why it's called

Digital Zoom

This is my son's stuffed animal, Pukey. If you look closely his edges look a little weird, this is an effect of digital zoom.  Essentially your phone is taking a picture and then zooming in on a certain point...

The black box is a picture taken without zoom. It has 18,000,000 pixels, the blue square is digital zoom. Lets say it is 1/8 the size of the big picture, that means it has 2,250,000 pixels. 

A few camera companies will ramp up that 2.25MP back up to it 18MP. This is done by interpolating the missing pixels. I don't know if my phone does it and I don't care. I give this advice a lot to my wife and family but DON'T ZOOM WITH YOUR PHONE.

Conclusion Digital zoom=Crappy zoom

Optical Zoom

Now there is a reason you see these huge lenses on cameras. That is because they don't use digital zoom they use optical zoom. Optical zoom  is the same technology that telescopes are based on.  Lenses create magic that make things look closer then they actually are. I use the words magic because this isn't a blog on space you don't really need to know how it works just know it does.

 You might not be able to tell from the picture but I was standing way farther back from Pukey for this picture. 

Optical zoom doesn't take a picture then crop it down to zoom in. The elements (lenses) in your lens move to change light so that an object appears closer, and doesn't loose any of it's clarity.  As far as your camera is concerned you have teleported 50ft forward and you are taking the picture there.

So their is a lot of complicated stuff I could get into about optical zoom.  But there are only a few things that are important

• All lenses, even prime lenses, that "Don't Zoom" Zoom. It is just in their nature to zoom, a prime lens' zoom just can't be changed, it is a fixed zoom.
• "Zoom" lenses are also know as telephoto lenses by people that want to sound smarter. 

Canon Zoom Lens EF 28-70mm 1:2.8 L
These things mean...
Canon = Brand of lens
Zoom = I don't really know why they feel they must tell us that but its a zoom lens
EF = The lens Mount (remember EF can be used on Cropped and Full Frame sensors)
28-70mm = The amount of zoom a lens has 28 is reasonably wide and 70 is not very zoomy. This is not a great lens for sports but it is my go to lenses for weddings and portraits
1:2.8 = Aperture we will get into this more in another blog but 2.8 is the best a zoom lens can get
L= Canon's luxury brand

mm

 Zoom is measuered in mm or milometers. The lower the number, the less zoom, the higher the number the great the zoom.

Now if you remember from previous blog posts the zoom of a lenses is effected by the sensor. So in the case of a 50mm prime lens a cropped lens will not be a true 50mm lens. The zoom factor is usually 1.4x with most crop lenses so the 50mm is actually a 70mm

I would go into the science of why they measure in mm and what that means but I don't think it is relevant...

The lens you want for sports is somewhere around 70-200 mm.

And the lens you want taking pictures of your family where you can get off your butt and move is 18-70mm.

I will make recommendations at a later date with more specific lens suggestions.

What Camera BODY should I buy?

For This blog post their are some abbreviations you will need to know

• FPS = Frames per second- This is the number of pictures a camera can take in one second.
• ISO = A camera's sensitivity to light- The higher the number the more light a camera can get making a higher exposure (Brighter Picture).
• MP = Megapixels- A useless term meaning how many million pixels a in an image. You can blow up an image to a 20ftx50ft frame... totally useless because more doesn't mean better!!!!
• Auto -Focus points = Auto focus points - when an image will focus on a point through a lens. You know how your phone picks up faces when you look at it and it focuses on them. A DSLR doesn't do that. They leave it up to you to put a focus point on someone's face. You can "Auto Focus" but it just finds a place on your subject that has high contrast and focuses on it.

The question of what camera should I buy is an important question to ask. I personally know Canon cameras. I know a lot about Canon cameras... more than I probably should. When looking for a camera the first thing you need to think about is the body of the camera.

BODY

The camera body...

• Is the camera itself
• Contains the super important camera sensor that we talked about before
• Has all the buttons

Now I will go into more detail about camera lenses and the functionality of cameras in more detail at a later time. With this post I want to hit just a few points.

 Before I start I should go over the number system for Canon cameras.

#D- 5d 6d 7d etc...

• These are the semi professional cameras 
• They are expensive and from generation to generation there are not a lot of super improvements because they are so good
• The 5D is the best

##D- 30D 60D 80D etc...

• In my opinion these are the semi professional cameras
• The higher the number the newer the camera

T#i- T1i, T2i, T3i etc...

• Entry level cameras; there are a lot of them
• The higher the number the better the camera

T#- T3, T4, T5 etc...

• If you purchased a camera without reading my blog and you purchased a T# I am sorry. You got RIPPED OFF!! When Canon makes a camera like the T1i they make molds, get parts all ready and then someday they have to make the new T2i. They then have a bunch of out of date crappy camera parts they have nothing to use them for. So some jerk came up with the idea of re-releasing old cameras as "new".
  
• The Canon T3 is the T1i re-release. The T4 is the Canon T2i re-release 
• NEVER BUY a T#, buy a used T#i

When Looking for a camera body the most important questions are "how much money do you want to spend?" and "what are you going to use it for?"!

MONEY
 
     Now, you need to remember twhen buying a camera body, unless it comes with some amazing lens, I would not recommend buying a camera with a "kit lens".  A kit lens is a Canon brand zoom lens that does have some uses, however they cram so many "special" (another word for useless) features into the lens they think they can justify selling you the camera for hundreds of dollars more! It is extremely easy to go online and buy yourself a better lens for a lot less.

If you are buying a camera for sports I use a cost ratio (camera body to lens). For my current camera body to lens ratio

• $1 to $2 (this means my lens is worth twice as much as my camera body)

  Remember I don't have my dream camera body yet (5D mark III). When I get that camera my ratio will be more like $1 to $1

For those of you who know nothing about cameras I would not recommend going out and buying expensive gear! Here is why...

• You might not like photography
• You might not use it nearly as much as you think you will
• Who wants to spend $1200 on something you know nothing about. If I couldn't drive I wouldn't go out and spend a ton of money on a car I would get a crappy but reliable first car. The same principles should apply to your first introductory camera.

My first DSLR was an original first generation digital Canon Rebel and here are the specs...

• ISO range 100-1600
• 2.5 FPS
• 6.3 MP
• CMOS sensor (Cropped)

This camera was GREAT. I got it for $100 bucks, used, on eBay and it was an awesome first camera. I knew absolutely nothing about cameras but I still managed to get some great pictures and I loved it.

Now if you don't want to buy something so old and crappy there is some great options for you when it comes to old cameras that you can get used. My philosophy with old cameras is "At one time it was the best camera money could buy".

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO USE IT FOR 

    I am trying to make this a "HOW TO TAKE SPORTS PICTURES" blog but I can't alienate all the other forms of photography. Below is a list of photography types that I think require you to think a little different for each on what is important in a camera to you.

1. Staged Photographer-Beginner
2. Real Life Photographer-Intermediate
3. Sports Photographer-Advanced
4. Nature Photographer (landscapes and the like)

Now a little disclaimer: any and all Canon cameras can do all these things. However they might not do it as well as other things.

Staged Photographer-Beginner
    
        I think of this photographer as that mom who wants to take her kids senior pictures. They want to stage their family perfectly, get them all dressed up use the camera for a second and never use it again. She doesn't want candid pictures, their lives are insane and she thinks "who would want to see that?".
     This person does not require an expensive super overloaded featured camera that can take pictures of a fart from 50 miles away.... They just want it to take pictures, nothing more nothing less.
     I would recommend to this mom or any amateur portrait photographer that they do not need a fancy new camera that can take video or that can take 5-7 Frames Per Second (FPS) and has an ISO range of 100-640000. I would recommend this camera...

Click Here For This Camera

Canon XSI

• 9 auto-focus points
• 3.5 FPS
• 100-1600 ISO range
• 12.2 MP 
• CMOS (crop sensor)

This is a great camera.  In its day people took pictures using the CanonXSI and they were great!! I know people who still use this camera and love it, and the best part is the current price of $139.45. This camera is a great starter camera. It will help you learn all the functions on a DSLR camera. ISO, aperture, shutter speed, all these things work the same way in every camera.

Real Life Photographer-Intermediate
    
    I think of  this photographer as the dad who doesn't want anyone to look in the camera. The camera is constantly out, always taking pictures and videos of everything you can imagine. He never cares if the camera gets the perfect shot or not, it's just a lazy day and he wants to snap some pics.
   This person is harder to shop for... not posing people requires you to take pictures at a seconds notice. You have to be able to adapt to your surroundings. He might require special features like a higher ISO range, maybe a faster FPS. Basically what he needs is an intermediate camera that has more then one function.

Click Here For This Camera

This camera has a lot of "features"

Canon T3i

• 9 Auto-focus points
• 3.7 FPS
• 18 MP
• 100-6400 ISO
• CMOS (crop sensor)
• 1080p HD video recording

I have owned this camera, and it was fantastic. I have only good things to say about this camera. The big ISO range will allow this dad to get pictures even with bad lenses in dark places. He will also not only be able to take pictures but he can also take amazing videos as well. This camera body will run dad $555 with a crummy kit lens.
     This camera is not just for a photographer it is also for a videoprapher. But with the added feature of video and the "newerness" of the camera the price is considerable higher.

Some of you might be wondering why I say the T3i when the T1i is a little older and does a lot of the same things.  I have owned both cameras and I know from experience that the T3i is better and here is why...

• T3i has a flippy screen (this might seem stupid but when you are taking video it is both helpful and awesome)
• The T3i has better video functionality, because of it's continuous auto focus 
• The T3i is only a tiny bit more expensive at $687 vs $649! I would pay an extra 38 bucks for the flippy screen alone
• If you don't want to take video and you don't care about a flippy screen, then buy the camera that preceded the T1i. That camera is the XSI and it is $510 cheaper!!!! Remember just because it has certain features doesn't mean you are going to use them or that you even want them.  They throw them in so they can charge a crap ton more for features you will never use!

Sports Photographer-Advanced
 
    Now we get to the part I like to talk about. I have already mentioned my number one pick for a new photographer starting off and wanting to do sports photography. That camera would probably be the T3i. So I will go over what I think is the bees knees of sports photography bodies and that is the...

 Click Here For This Camera

Canon 5D mark III

• 61 focus points
• 6fps
• 100-102400 ISO
• CMOS (Full Frame Sensor)
• 22 MP
• 1080p HD video

Now for those of you who don't know, this isn't even the newest Canon 5d. There have been "3" newer models. All in my opinion are miserable let downs that are currently way over priced. Now there is a reason why this is my dream camera; not only would it would be a great sports camera, it would also be a great wedding and portrait camera.
       Words of advice do not buy an early version of the 5d. You might be thinking "well a 5d mark 1 is only $400 bucks on eBay I should buy that, Sam says full frame cameras are the best". NO!!! the 5D mark 1 is a useless piece of junk for sports photography, and so is the mark II in my opinion (the FPS is just way to low).

 Their is another advanced camera for those who want a step up from the T3i (or a newer T#i) and can't afford the 5d mark III. That is what I currently own. It is a great camera and some even say ,stupidly and wrongly, the best sports camera body Canon makes and that is the...

Click Here For This Camera

Canon 7d

• 19 auto focus points
• 8 FPS
• 100-6400 ISO
• CMOS (Cropped sensor)
• 18 MP
• 1080p HD video

Now this is not the newest 7d they make, there is a mark II but I refuse to acknowledge it's existence.  The 7d is not a full frame camera so it does have a lot of noise at high ISO especially in junky high school gyms. But it has a few features that make it a contender for the best sports photography camera. The main one being the huge 8 FPS. Now mind you, that is a load when it really comes down to it. If you are shooting in RAW or even using a crappy memory card will make 8 FPS just numbers.
          But every once in a while you can find a 7d on Craigslist or eBay that is a steal of a deal (that's how I got mine). Another feature these cameras have is great weather sealing, they are essentially bullet proof.

Nature Photographer (landscapes and the like)

    For you weirdos that like to go on hikes and do things like look at stuff, taking a picture just ruins that moment for you right? I guess if you want to share your experience with us non hikers you can bring along a camera.
     There was a time when I did like hiking and I went to glacier national park and took some awesome pictures (with my Canon T3i) but I also brought along another camera that I would recommend any outdoor enthusiast.

Click Here For This Camera

Pentax WG-2
 Now I could go into extreme detail about this camera and tell you all its features but who cares?! This is a point and shoot camera. I used the WG-1 and it was a great little camera! You can drop it off a cliff, throw it into a lake, it can take anything. Although mine did eventually break while kayaking because some water got into the lens part, but in it's defense after it dried it worked fine. There just can't be in any humidity.
          It takes good pictures and crappy videos and the newer ones have some sort of GPS thing maybe they could use it to find you if the boulder you are taking a picture of falls on you. Although in that situation the video is so bad I wouldn't recommend it for the recording of your last words.

 CONCLUSION

So my recommendation for a camera is to look at what you are doing and how much you want to spend and purchase accordingly.
 Although if you have no idea if you want to get into photography and you just want to get a camera that you can test out, I would recommend the XSI. It is simple and can take pictures. It is very cheap... and if you ever want to advance to better stuff you can always sell it and get a better camera body and keep your lenses!!!!

Understanding canon's Sensors

Canon

Understanding Camera Bodies

Okay so when you are looking for a camera there are a few things you should know before you even think about purchasing a camera the big one is the 

Sensor

     There are 2 different types of sensors for any camera 

        Full & Crop Sensor

Full Sensor

Pros

• Better noise performance at higher ISO
• Wider shots (a 50mm is actually going to shoot at 50mm)
• A better quality picture

Cons

• Unless you want to get an old and crusty full frame you are going to spend way more money
• The bigger sensor requires a bigger actuator which means your fps is lower (usually)
• limited selection 
• can't use EF-S lenses!!! (that lowers the lens selection to only the more expensive EF lenses 

Cropped Sensor
Pros

• Huge selection
• You get a little extra zoom out of your lenses
• like I said before usually a faster fps
• Cheap
• Can use any Canon lens mount

Cons

• Worse Noise performance at higher ISO
• slightly less quality picture

Now that I have said all that stuff lets go through some of them and figure out exactly what they mean!
Lets start with
how each sensor effects the zoom of a lens

In the above diagram the Circle represents the lens and the square the sensor
You can see that the full frame camera fill up more of the lens which means you get more of the picture!
This means you get a more zoomed out picture. Then you have the cropped sensor you can see that it doesn't take up as much of the lens. That means it gets less of the whole picture and you get a more zoomed in Picture.

Next lets go over
The quality of picture you get from a bigger sensor vs smaller 
The quality can be summed up and effected most by the amount of noise you get on your camera at higher ISO
With sports you will have your ISO up very High... painfully high!

It might not be obvious on the picture above but I didn't take the picture. I recently sold my full frame camera so I couldn't take a comparative picture.

 Above is a picture I took on my crop sensored canon 7d my ISO was as high as it could get. Do you see the graininess of the picture. Well on a full frame camera the noise wouldn't be as bad.

Lastly lets go over

Lens mounts

EF-S

EF-S lenses are easily identified by the little white square. These lenses are specifically designed for crop sensors. These lenses can not be used on full frame cameras.
EF

This mount can be identified by the little red circle. These lenses can be used on both Crop and Full frame cameras

The above picture is a crop camera mount (notice the tiny mirror covering the smaller sensor). Also the red circle and the white square.

The above picture is a Full frame camera mount (notice the larger mirror covering the larger sensor). Also this camera only has a red circle!

Well I guess Gomperphotography has a blog now!... or has had a blog for a while 😆
I started this blog 4 years ago with very little experience under my belt. I can't believe how much fun I have had learning more about Photography, and photo editing. I started taking sports photos shortly after staring this blog. When I took pictures at my brother's freshman Football Jamboree.
     Football was the best thing to happen to me. It forced me to learn my equipment, to learn what is the best lens and sensor on a camera. I was watching countless youtube videos on how to make my low light shooting better. It wasn't tell a year or so later that i figured out I was watching the wrong kinds of Videos!! Sports photography is a lot different from portrait photography. The most obvious difference is motion!
    I really want this blog to be something for people who want to do the kinds of photography I do. I like sports I enjoy taking pictures at sporting events immensely, especial sporting events no one cares about except parents. If I hadn't gone to my brother's football games he would of missed out on a lifetime of being able to see pictures of himself doing something he loved. I want to try to make videos on how I do sports photography, if you want to see some of my sports photography you can visit my website www.gomperphotography.com the current season is Basketball.

I hope that this blog is useful for you in the future

I have been goofing off with Photoshop a lot lately and I have come up with some designs for a water-mark on my pictures The story behind Gomper is a nickname I got in elementary school.