Our Mission

Popular Photography empowers readers to make the most out of the cameras in their hands. With expert yet easy-to-follow advice at its core, PopPhoto showcases the tools, techniques, and inspiration enthusiasts need to create great pictures. 

As a brand, PopPhoto is… 

• A Curator, who inspires creativity in our readers by surfacing stunning images, showcasing and discussing the attributes that take a picture from good to great
• A Mentor, who explains the technology, techniques, and principles of photography to empower everyone to take amazing photos. 
• An Analyst, who puts pictures in context, tracking the news, trends, and technology that shape the past, present, and future of photography. 

Our History

Founded in 1937, Popular Photography was among the first photography publications geared for the masses. The magazine offered extensive camera equipment tests and tech reviews, how-to guides, looks into the shifting culture of photography, and industry news. It became a go-to source for clever photography tips and insights on the best cameras and techniques around. In 1989, the magazine absorbed competitor Modern Photography, followed by AmericanPHOTO in 2015. 

Relaunched in December 2021, the new PopPhoto embraces that there’s a camera in almost every hand—and that you don’t need a bagful of pricey camera gear to make unforgettable pictures. This view allows access to a wide-open world of new platforms, emerging voices, and eclectic visions, all of which empower everyone from aspiring photographers to those already part of the world of professional photography.  

The top stories we tell

Everything you need to know about the best camera brands

• What it’s like to shoot with the Canon EOS R5 
• The best glass for shooting portraits on Nikon cameras
• Pick the best Sony camera for you

Tech reviews that delve into everything from tripods to the best bags

• The best lens adapters
• The best portrait lighting kits
• The best wide-angle lenses

Photography tips and tricks to make great images

• Take food photos good enough to eat
• How to change the light seals on an old film camera
• How to photograph a meteor shower

Who we are

The Popular Photography staff, team, and contributors:

EDITORIAL & ART:

Editor-in-Chief, PopSci & PopPhoto: Annie Colbert
Executive Gear Editor: Stan Horazcek
Associate Editor: Abby Ferguson
Design Director: Russ Smith
Contributors: Jeff Carlson, Jack Crager, Aaron Gold, Harry Guinness, Wenmei Hill, Jeanette D. Moses, Theano Nikitas, Mike Padua, Bob Rose, Terry Sullivan, Mike Tomkins

OPERATIONS & COMMERCE:

General Manager: Adam Morath 
Senior Director of Commerce: Billy Cadden
Senior Director, Product Development: Amy Schellenbaum
PR Coordinator: Ben Lankford

Contact Us

Want to drop us a line, send in a tip, advertise with us, or talk about camera stuff? Find the right place to go here.

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Canon 40mm f/2.8 EF STM

iKan IB500 Dual Color LED Studio Light

iPhoto for iPad

Lensbaby Edge 80 Optic

Canon EOS Rebel T4i

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4

Nikon 24–85mm F/3.5–4.5 AF-S VR

Drobo Mini

Litepanels Croma Shoe-Mount LED light

DxO ViewPoint

Canon EOS 5D Mark III

Fujifilm X-Pro1

Nikon D800

Lastolight Brolly grip

Panasonic Lumix GX1

Novoflex VR System Slant Tripod Head

Nikon D3200

Pentax K-30

PocketWizard Plus III

Sony 16–55mm f/2.8 DT SSM

Really Right Stuff WPF-QR2 Flash Bracket

Samsung 85mm F/1.4

Sigma 180mm f/2.8 apo Macro EX DG OS HSM

Sony Alpha 99

Sunbounce Bounce-Wall

Tamron 24 –70mm f/2.8 DI VC USD

Sony XQD Card and Reader

Timbuk2 Sleuth backpack

Tokina 17-35mm f/4 AT-X Pro FX

Carl Zeiss 25mm f/2 Distagon T* ZE

Vanguard Xcenior series shoulder bag

Wacom Intuos5 tablet

LowePro Photo Hatchback 22L AW

Westcott Ice Light

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For a chance to win an all-expenses-paid six-day trip to the Magic Isle, readers had the chance to submit a photo showing us exactly how bad they wanted to visit Maui. Picking a winner wasn’t easy, because we got some pretty amazing responses: particularly those of you who braved outdoor shots in the snow and ice, wearing nothing but bathing suits.

But in the end we had to go with this hilarious contribution from Liesel Kopp, whose imagination and image editing skills took her to new levels of wackiness. We were impressed by the concept (not just “on the brain” but “under the skin”), as well as the evident research and care spent putting this together (look closely and you’ll notice she even included the Hawaii state bird). Mostly because, well, it made us laugh out loud, particularly the “crowning touch.”

Here’s how Liesel did it:

“I thought about the contest theme for a really long time, and then it hit me that I had had “Maui on the brain” for so long that the idea morphed into other phrases, and that’s where the phrases “On our minds, under our skin and in our hearts” came from. Then my boyfriend Josh and I did a ridiculous photo shoot in my apartment, and I started playing with the results with those phrases in mind. I used stock images of Maui, as well as elements of photos that my brother Kerry had taken in Kauai, to meld onto our bodies.

The background is also from my brother, and I manipulated the people in the background so that they no longer look like their original selves. I had a ton of layers going on–each element is its own layer, and depending on the color, brightness and detail of each, I would use options such as Multiply, Overlay, Screen, and Opacity to make them look like they were tattooed onto us. I also used the Eraser at a very low opacity to soften edges of elements, and the dodge and burn tool to give them depth. I saved the nene bird and palm tree as our crowning glory–I wanted the image to be as fun, colorful and ridiculously over-the-top as possible to match how much I want to go to Maui.”

She’s pretty excited to be the winner! “I absolutely love the island, and I’ve always been overwhelmed by its beauty as well as the sense of reverence and spirituality there. Winning this contest is incredibly special and means the world to me. I’ll be taking my boyfriend Josh, who patiently participated in my photo shoot then allowed me to put a palm tree on his head.”

She¹ll be traveling there some time in the next year with the help of our sponsors, Maui Visitors Bureau (www.visitmaui.com), and Royal Lahaina Resort (2maui.com).

See all of the results here: galleries.popphoto.com.

And for your own chance to enter one of our contests, keep checking PopPhoto.com.

The post “Maui: How Bad Do You Want It 2009” Has a Winner appeared first on Popular Photography.

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1. Sensor size or number of megapixels-which matters more?

Neither. The most important variable is the size of the individual pixels. A pixel is like a light sponge-the bigger it is, the more light it absorbs. Greater sensitivity lets you shoot at higher ISOs with less noise, better detail, and finer color gradation. Of course, bigger pixels require a bigger sensor to hold the same number.

2. So that’s the reason you get better pictures from a DSLR than a compact that has the same number of megapixels?

That’s just one reason. DSLRs also tend to do better at image processing. They give you more control and, of course, a range of lenses. Other pluses: speedier startup time, lack of shutter lag, faster and more sensitive autofocus, clear and accurate viewfinder, faster burst rates, more powerful flash, many accessories, longer battery life, and typically greater ruggedness.

3. What’s better, digital or optical image stabilization?

Digital stabilization is basically bogus-it simply boosts the ISO and shutter speed, and sometimes uses software to sharpen blurry areas of the image. Optical image stabilization is the real deal: Either the imaging sensor or an element in the lens moves to counteract your motion when handholding at slower shutter speeds.

4. What’s the difference between Automatic and Program mode?

Automatic is pure point-and-shoot-the camera sets aperture, shutter speed, ISO, white balance, autofocusing mode, flash. We much prefer Program, which sets the aperture and shutter, but leaves the rest up to you. You can set some or all of the other parameters, apply exposure compensation, and decide when you want flash.

5. What does Program Shift do?

It lets you change the aperture/shutter-speed combination while maintaining the exposure. Say that in Program mode your camera chooses 1/250 sec at f/8, but you’re shooting a portrait and want to use a large aperture to blur out the background. With Program Shift, you set the aperture to f/2.8, and the shutter speed will automatically change to 1/2000 sec, which gets the same amount of light to the sensor or film.

6. What’s with “equivalent” focal lengths? Why do you sometimes call a 50mm lens a 75mm equivalent?

It refers to the corresponding focal length on a traditional 35mm film camera or full-frame DSLR. Because most DSLR sensors are much smaller than a 35mm frame of film, they record only the center of the image circle cast by the full-frame 50mm lens, producing images with the same field of view as those a 75mm lens would capture on a 35mm or full-frame SLR. (The difference in area is called the crop or lens factor.)

7. What makes one lens “faster” than another?

A fast (or bright) lens admits lots of light through a big maximum aperture. This allows you to use a faster shutter speed than you can with a small-aperture (slow or dim) lens. The f-number designation on a lens tells you the biggest aperture you can set, with lower numbers signifying wider apertures: An f/1.4 lens is very fast, f/2.8 is pretty fast, and f/5.6 is slow.

8. So is it better to use a full-frame lens on a DSLR that has a smaller sensor?

No. Since the smaller sensor records only the central “sweet spot” of the image circle, full-frame lenses theoretically should give you images that are sharper around the edges than digital-only lenses do-but there’s scant evidence of that in the real world. Full-framers have some benefits: Retaining their utility if you upgrade to a full-frame DSLR with the same mount, for instance. But the crop factor means they can’t give you an ultrawide angle of view-that 17mm lens becomes a 25mm equivalent on a camera with an APS-C-size sensor.

9. So, what does a range such as f/3.5-5.6 on a lens mean?

On less-expensive zooms, the lens gets slower as you move to longer focal lengths. On an 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 lens, for instance, you can set an aperture as big as f/3.5 at 18mm, but at 55mm the widest you can set is f/5.6. At an intermediate focal length-say, 35mm-the maximum aperture will be around f/4.5.

10. Why should I buy a telephoto lens when I can just put a teleconverter on my kit zoom?

That will make your already-slow lens even slower. A 2X converter will make an f/3.5-5.6 lens, for example, effectively f/7-11, dim enough to prevent autofocus. And the teleconverters available for kit lenses tend to be of so-so optical quality. Better to put the money toward an inexpensive kit telezoom.

11. What’s the difference between evaluative, centerweighted, and spotmetering?

All camera meters try to make some part of the frame appear as a midtone-right between very light and very dark. Evaluative metering divides the frame up into segments, compares the readings in each section, and decides on an appropriate pattern for determining exposure. Centerweighted takes into account all the light, but puts a heavy emphasis on the middle of the frame. Spotmetering uses a small percentage of the frame-often less than 5 percent and typically in the center, though some cameras let you link it to the active AF point. While evaluative is best for most situations, centerweighted works well for subjects such as group portraits. For the most control, use spotmetering to choose the midtone.

12. Why use a handheld lightmeter when I have all those choices in the camera?

Because most handheld meters let you set your exposure based on the light falling on your subject, called “incident” light. They’re great when your subject is unusually dark (nonreflective) or light (highly reflective), which camera meters (also called “reflective” meters) tend to over- or underexpose. They also help get consistent exposures in scenes with a wide range of tones. For an incident reading, hold the meter at the point on your subject where exposure is most critical, such as the face, and point it at the camera position. Many handheld meters can be set to read reflected light and flash intensity, too.

13. How do I tell how far my flash will reach?

By its Guide Number, assigned to almost all built-in and shoe-mount flashes and listed-in feet, meters, or both-in the back of your camera or flash manual. The GN tells you how far your flash will carry at a given aperture or what aperture to set for a given distance. Just divide the GN by either distance or f-number. For example, if a flash has a GN of 80 in feet (at ISO 100), it can reach up to 20 feet with a lens set to f/4 (80÷4=20). If you want to shoot at 40 feet at the same ISO, you’d have to open your lens to f/2.

14. My flash has TTL and Auto settings. What’s the difference?

The TTL setting controls flash output by measuring how much flash reflects back through the lens (TTL) to the camera’s built-in lightmeter. It’s usually the most accurate means of determining flash exposure, and it lets you aim your flash in any direction to bounce the light. Auto Flash controls output by measuring how much flash reflects back to a sensor built into the flash itself. It’s accurate enough for most scenes and usually will function on many different cameras, while flash units that offer just TTL control work only with compatible cameras.

15. I love my old Vivitar 283 flash. Can I use it with my new Canon EOS 40D?

It depends on when your 283 was made. If it’s one of the originals made in Japan from 1972 to 1987, it’s not safe. Their trigger voltages vary up to a reported 600 volts-enough to fry your 40D’s circuitry. More recent models (marked “Made in China” or “Made in Korea”) generally use a 9-volt trigger charge, so they’re safer on new cameras. Still, we’d attach a Wein Safe-Sync adapter ($50, street) to its foot-or just buy a current TTL flash. It costs much less than replacing your DSLR, and you can still use the 283 as an off-camera background or fill light.

16. Can my camera keep pace with the latest high-speed memory cards?

The newest models can, and manufacturers are always working on improving image transfer speeds and reducing the time it takes for ever-larger image files to clear the camera’s buffer, says Jeff Cable, director of marketing for memory-card maker Lexar. But another benefit of high-speed cards is their ability to transfer images to your computer quickly. To make them run at top velocity, always use a compatible card reader.

17. Does it harm flash cards to reformat them frequently?

Nope. In fact, the experts encourage it. Reformatting scrubs images, file names and other image-related data from the card, freeing up memory so you can keep shooting. It’s best to reformat the card in the camera, rather than on your computer, to ensure they work together properly.

18. Is it true that JPEGs lose detail each time they’re opened? Should I work only with TIFFs or PSDs?

Not anymore. If you simply open your JPEG, do nothing but view it, and then close the file, you will not lose detail. If you use the Save As command in Photoshop and choose to save as a lower-quality JPEG, cause ugly artifacts that diminish detail. Frequently re-saving JPEGs at the same quality level may introduce some artifacts, but you won’t see them unless you zoom way into the image.

19. Why would I need a monitor calibrator?

Every monitor is different, and if yours is, say, very bright and high-contrast, you’ll be disappointed when your prints come out dark and dull. So before you edit your pictures on your computer, calibrate your monitor. Once it’s set to the prescribed standard, you can count on your screen to display your pictures as they really are. Then you can tweak them with confidence and enjoy prints that match what you saw on the screen.

20. I love shooting sunsets, but when I expose for the sky, the foreground is too dark. What can I do?

Use a split neutral-density filter. The color, a neutral gray that won’t affect the colors in your photo, goes from dark to clear either abruptly (hard-edge) or little-by-little (graduated filters). A split ND is the perfect solution for situations where the foreground and background are under vastly different light. The filter allows you to expose properly for the dark foreground without blowing out the highlights of the lighter sky.

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What’s so normal about a 50mm f/1.4 “normal” lens?

Almost nothing.

There’s little this superhero can’t do. Low light? No problem. Portraits? On most DSLRs, oh yes. Sports? For indoor action, it’s the bomb. Extreme close-ups? With a reverse-mount adapter, it’s what the doctor ordered. Street photography? Nothing better. Soft-focus romance? Absolutely.

Compact for travel, it’s light enough to carry 24/7. And that big maximum aperture delivers a blindingly bright finder image. Want more? Even the expensive ones are a bargain. Compare, for example, Nikon’s 50mm f/1.4, at $290 (street), to its 85mm f/1.4, which costs $1,000. No wonder every pro we know owns a 50mm f/1.4.

While teles compress space and wide-angles expand it, the 50mm renders spatial arrangements almost exactly as your eye sees them. Try this: Mount a 50mm on your DSLR and look through the viewfinder. Now, slowly lower the camera. Photographers weaned on superzooms that yoyo between expanded and contracted space may be surprised — there’s little difference between views. This distortion-free magnification, perspective, and angle of view is why it’s called “normal.”

And that’s only the beginning of the 50mm’s powers . . .

See our specs on the top 50mm brands.

FACES

For much of the film era, 35mm portraitists opted for focal lengths between 70mm and 135mm. Why? Because they flatter the human face — they’re neither long enough to compress space, which flattens contours, nor wide enough to expand a large nose. This pushed the 50mm lens out of the portrait business.

But then came digital. Because of the lens-conversion factor associated with most DSLRs, the too-wide-for-faces 50mm converts up to 75-80mm — perfect for half-length or even head-and-shoulder portraits. (Don’t get any closer, though.)

The 50mm f/1.4 also beats “portrait” (105mm f/2.8 or 135mm f/2.8) lenses, allowing convenient working distances and beautifully out-of-focus backgrounds. For a half-length portrait made with a 135mm, for instance, you typically must put 12 feet or more between camera and subject. That kind of space can be hard to come by or work with — you may have to shout to be heard. With a 50mm, though, you can step forward to fix Junior’s tie, then take a few steps back to click the shutter.

And if you want the kind of dreamy background Michael Soo produced for this intimate view of a model named Tiffany, nothing’s better than the f/1.4’s extremely shallow depth of field.

ACTION

With its bright apertures of f/1.4, f/2, and f/2.8 funneling generous amounts of light through to the image sensor, the 50mm f/1.4 affords shutter speeds fast enough to freeze most common forms of human motion.

It’s especially well-suited to indoor amateur sports where organizers let you get within feet of the athletes. This lens, coupled with a high ISO, will work for basketball, wrestling, gymnastics, cheerleading competitions, or kickboxing in the dimmest gymnasium — all without flash.

Because most of today’s 50mm f/1.4 lenses have their origins in the film era, autofocus is rarely fast. This shouldn’t deter you, though. Many indoor sports move within the plane of focus, rather than moving toward or away from your camera. Wrestlers and fencers are easy to follow, and for hoops, just focus near the backboard or foul line, and wait for the action to come to you.

Plus, because 50mm lenses are so compact, with focusing rings right under your fingers, they’re easier to focus manually than almost any zoom lens — and in really low light, manual is preferable to auto.

SOFT FOCUS

Dreamily defocused backgrounds suggest mystery and romance — and few tools conjure them up as effectively as the shallow depths of field possible at f/1.4. No wonder you can’t dig too deeply in any wedding photographer’s bag before bumping into a 50mm f/1.4 “detailer.”

It’s useful for focusing in on table decorations, the bride’s gown and jewelry, the bridal bouquet, and other details, since that f/1.4 aperture successfully throws everything but your subject out of focus. It strongly forces viewers’ attention to where you want it, simultaneously casting an irresistible, soft spell over everything else.

Shooting at f/1.4 can be magical, but it’s not easy. Holding the focus on elements that need to be sharp can be challenging. (The closer the focusing distance, the shallower your depth of field becomes and the harder this gets.) So, when working at or near maximum aperture, be careful where you’re focusing. Don’t pay too much attention to the green “in-focus” viewfinder bullet. Instead, keep your eye peeled to the specific AF target that’s active.

Don’t automatically work at f/1.4. Closing down a stop lessens vignetting and expands the depth of field for sharpness, while still delivering softness beyond. And, since 50mm f/1.4 lenses are typically least sharp when used wide open, if detail is important (as in flower close-ups or eyelashes in tight portraits), again, stop down a bit.

CLOSE UP

While nowhere on the barrel of your 50mm f/1.4 will you find the word “macro,” if your lens has an aperture ring, you can quickly and easily turn your “normal” lens into an extremely powerful close-up tool.

To magnify your subject to a 1:1, 2:1 or even 3:1 ratio, all you need is a lens-reversing ring such as the Nikon BR-2A ($30, street). You twist the ring onto the front-barrel filter threads of your 50mm, and then bayonet the lens backwards into your camera’s lensmount. You won’t be able to focus at infinity — but bring on the bugs and buds.

If none of the 50mm lenses made for your camera have an aperture ring, macro fans still has options. Find a reversing ring for your lensmount (typically $15, street). With the right ring, you can reverse-mount any maker’s 50mm f/1.4 on your DSLR body and fire away in your camera’s manual mode. Search garage sales and online auctions for inexpensive 50mm lenses (with aperture rings). Or, failing that, grab a new Pentax 50mm f/1.4 for $200, street. Even new, it’s much less expensive than virtually any 1:1 macro lens around.

If you decide to try this low-cost and effective route to high-magnification close-ups, budget, too, for a macro focusing rail (from $175, street). Without one, you will very quickly tire of the tedium and inaccuracy of conventional manual focus at such tight subject distances.

LOW LIGHT

If you’re accustomed to shooting in low light with a variable-aperture f/3.5-5.6 kit zoom, get ready for a pleasant surprise: Today’s 50mm f/1.4 lenses make sharp photography possible in the kind of light so dim, you probably would have left your camera in its bag before.

Several factors contribute to give the 50mm its superb low-light performance. First and most obviously, the high-speed f/1.4 maximum aperture allows more light through to the image sensor than almost any other lens available today.

Second, the compact dimensions of the 50mm lens are — compared with more long-barrelled lenses — less apt to magnify camera shake.

Third, if your camera body is blessed with sensor-based shake control (that’s you, Pentax, Samsung, and Sony owners), it will give you yet another stop or two of sharpness when lights are low.

Finally, with each generation, the sensors in today’s DSLRs are getting much better at suppressing image-softening noise in dimly lit shadows, even when you’ve dialed in high ISOs.

Add these factors together, and you see how a 50mm f/1.4 lets you leave tripod and flash at home.

faces

action

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2. So that’s the reason you get better pictures from a DSLR than a compact that has the same number of megapixels?
That’s just one reason. DSLRs also tend to do better at image processing. They give you more control and, of course, a range of lenses. Other pluses: speedier startup time, lack of shutter lag, faster and more sensitive autofocus, clear and accurate viewfinder, faster burst rates, more powerful flash, many accessories, longer battery life, and typically greater ruggedness.

3. What’s better, digital or optical image stabilization?
Digital stabilization is basically bogus — it simply boosts the ISO and shutter speed, and sometimes uses software to sharpen blurry areas of the image. Optical image stabilization is the real deal: Either the imaging sensor or an element in the lens moves to counteract your motion when handholding at slower shutter speeds.

4. What’s the difference between Automatic and Program mode?
Automatic is pure point-and-shoot — the camera sets aperture, shutter speed, ISO, white balance, autofocusing mode, flash. We much prefer Program, which sets the aperture and shutter, but leaves the rest up to you. You can set some or all of the other parameters, apply exposure compensation, and decide when you want flash.

5. What does Program Shift do?
It lets you change the aperture/shutter-speed combination while maintaining the exposure. Say that in Program mode your camera chooses 1/2 50 sec at f/8, but you’re shooting a portrait and want to use a large aperture to blur out the background. With Program Shift, you set the aperture to f/2.8, and the shutter speed will automatically change to 1/2 000 sec, which gets the same amount of light to the sensor or film.

6. What’s with “equivalent” focal lengths? Why do you sometimes call a 50mm lens a 75mm equivalent?
It refers to the corresponding focal length on a traditional 35mm film camera or full-frame DSLR. Because most DSLR sensors are much smaller than a 35mm frame of film, they record only the center of the image circle cast by the full-frame 50mm lens, producing images with the same field of view as those a 75mm lens would capture on a 35mm or full-frame SLR. (The difference in area is called the crop or lens factor.)

7. What makes one lens “faster” than another?
A fast (or bright) lens admits lots of light through a big maximum aperture. This allows you to use a faster shutter speed than you can with a small-aperture (slow or dim) lens. The f-number designation on a lens tells you the biggest aperture you can set, with lower numbers signifying wider apertures: An f/1.4 lens is very fast, f/2.8 is pretty fast, and f/5.6 is slow.

8. So is it better to use a full-frame lens on a DSLR that has a smaller sensor?
No. Since the smaller sensor records only the central “sweet spot” of the image circle, full-frame lenses theoretically should give you images that are sharper around the edges than digital-only lenses do — but there’s scant evidence of that in the real world. Full-framers have some benefits: Retaining their utility if you upgrade to a full-frame DSLR with the same mount, for instance. But the crop factor means they can’t give you an ultrawide angle of view — that 17mm lens becomes a 25mm equivalent on a camera with an APS-C-size sensor.

9. So, what does a range such as f/3.5-5.6 on a lens mean?
On less-expensive zooms, the lens gets slower as you move to longer focal lengths. On an 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 lens, for instance, you can set an aperture as big as f/3.5 at 18mm, but at 55mm the widest you can set is f/5.6. At an intermediate focal length — say, 35mm — the maximum aperture will be around f/4.5.

10. Why should I buy a telephoto lens when I can just put a teleconverter on my kit zoom?
That will make your already-slow lens even slower. A 2X converter will make an f/3.5-5.6 lens, for example, effectively f/7-11, dim enough to prevent autofocus. And the teleconverters available for kit lenses tend to be of so-so optical quality. Better to put the money toward an inexpensive kit telezoom.

11. What’s the difference between evaluative, centerweighted, and spotmetering?
All camera meters try to make some part of the frame appear as a midtone — right between very light and very dark. Evaluative metering divides the frame up into segments, compares the readings in each section, and decides on an appropriate pattern for determining exposure. Centerweighted takes into account all the light, but puts a heavy emphasis on the middle of the frame. Spotmetering uses a small percentage of the frame — often less than 5 percent and typically in the center, though some cameras let you link it to the active AF point. While evaluative is best for most situations, centerweighted works well for subjects such as group portraits. For the most control, use spotmetering to choose the midtone.

12. Why use a handheld lightmeter when I have all those choices in the camera?
Because most handheld meters let you set your exposure based on the light falling on your subject, called “incident” light. They’re great when your subject is unusually dark (nonreflective) or light (highly reflective), which camera meters (also called “reflective” meters) tend to over- or underexpose. They also help get consistent exposures in scenes with a wide range of tones. For an incident reading, hold the meter at the point on your subject where exposure is most critical, such as the face, and point it at the camera position. Many handheld meters can be set to read reflected light and flash intensity, too.

13. How do I tell how far my flash will reach?
By its Guide Number, assigned to almost all built-in and shoe-mount flashes and listed — in feet, meters, or both — in the back of your camera or flash manual. The GN tells you how far your flash will carry at a given aperture or what aperture to set for a given distance. Just divide the GN by either distance or f-number. For example, if a flash has a GN of 80 in feet (at ISO 100), it can reach up to 20 feet with a lens set to f/4 (80÷4=20). If you want to shoot at 40 feet at the same ISO, you’d have to open your lens to f/2.

14. My flash has TTL and Auto settings. What’s the difference?
The TTL setting controls flash output by measuring how much flash reflects back through the lens (TTL) to the camera’s built-in lightmeter. It’s usually the most accurate means of determining flash exposure, and it lets you aim your flash in any direction to bounce the light. Auto Flash controls output by measuring how much flash reflects back to a sensor built into the flash itself. It’s accurate enough for most scenes and usually will function on many different cameras, while flash units that offer just TTL control work only with compatible cameras.

15. I love my old Vivitar 283 flash. Can I use it with my new Canon EOS 40D?
It depends on when your 283 was made. If it’s one of the originals made in Japan from 1972 to 1987, it’s not safe. Their trigger voltages vary up to a reported 600 volts — enough to fry your 40D’s circuitry. More recent models (marked “Made in China” or “Made in Korea”) generally use a 9-volt trigger charge, so they’re safer on new cameras. Still, we’d attach a Wein Safe-Sync adapter ($50, street) to its foot — or just buy a current TTL flash. It costs much less than replacing your DSLR, and you can still use the 283 as an off-camera background or fill light.

16. Can my camera keep pace with the latest high-speed memory cards?
The newest models can, and manufacturers are always working on improving image transfer speeds and reducing the time it takes for ever-larger image files to clear the camera’s buffer, says Jeff Cable, director of marketing for memory-card maker Lexar. But another benefit of high-speed cards is their ability to transfer images to your computer quickly. To make them run at top velocity, always use a compatible card reader.

17. Does it harm flash cards to reformat them frequently?
Nope. In fact, the experts encourage it. Reformatting scrubs images, file names and other image-related data from the card, freeing up memory so you can keep shooting. It’s best to reformat the card in the camera, rather than on your computer, to ensure they work together properly.

18. Is it true that JPEGs lose detail each time they’re opened? Should I work only with TIFFs or PSDs?
Not anymore. If you simply open your JPEG, do nothing but view it, and then close the file, you will not lose detail. If you use the Save As command in Photoshop and choose to save as a lower-quality JPEG, the extra compression is more likely to cause ugly artifacts that diminish detail. Frequently re-saving JPEGs at the same quality level may introduce some artifacts, but you won’t see them unless you zoom way into the image.

19. Is it true that JPEGs lose detail each time they’re opened? Should I work only with TIFFs or PSDs?
Every monitor is different, and if yours is, say, very bright and high-contrast, you’ll be disappointed when your prints come out dark and dull. So before you edit your pictures on your computer, calibrate your monitor. Once it’s set to the prescribed standard, you can count on your screen to display your pictures as they really are. Then you can tweak them with confidence and enjoy prints that match what you saw on the screen.

20. I love shooting sunsets, but when I expose for the sky, the foreground is too dark. What can I do?
Use a split neutral-density filter. The color, a neutral gray that won’t affect the colors in your photo, goes from dark to clear either abruptly (hard-edge) or little-by-little (graduated filters). A split ND is the perfect solution for situations where the foreground and background are under vastly different light. The filter allows you to expose properly for the dark foreground without blowing out the highlights of the lighter sky.

GOT A QUESTION? E-mail us at PopEditor@hfmus.com (include your name and street address) or visit the Tech Support forum.

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When Popular Photography asked readers this past February in our “Magical Maui! How Bad Do You Want It” contest to show us exactly how much they wanted to go to Maui, we weren’t sure what to expect. But the results were pretty overwhelming. We saw photographs of readers in swimsuits, sipping tropical drinks on lawnchairs in their snow-covered yards. Or hitching rides with their surfing gear along frosty lanes across the Midwest.

But our winner, 46-year-old electrical engineer Steve Froebe, took the contest to new heights, with this winning image of him and his wife dangling from an airplane. “When I thought about what I would do if I couldn’t pay for a ticket, that’s what I came up with,” Froebe says.

Fortunately, the couple will be able to fly inside the airplane on their actual trip to paradise, where they plan to hike up Haleakala for some photography of the spectacular landscape (as well as do their share of lying around on some of Maui’s spectacular beaches), thanks to the Maui Visitors Bureau, which is awarding the prize along with Wailea Beach Marriott Resort & Spa, where Froebe will be staying on his fabulous vacation.

To see the runners-up, you can click here or browse the full gallery. To find out more about contests at PopPhoto.com, click here, and keep checking back for new photo possibilities. We also hope that our winner keeps us posted on what images he takes in Maui. Mahalo, Steve!

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I just got a new DSLR and want to shoot lots of RAW photos. What sort of CompactFlash card works best? That’s easy — a big, fast one in the UDMA format. The problem: sorting the hype from the hard specs. Fortunately, all CF cards report size and speed the same way.

Shooting RAW gobbles memory like an Escalade drinks gas. So think gigs. The days of measuring capacity in megabytes (MB) are over. With 1GB equal to 1,000MB, a 1GB card holds about twice as much data as your old 512MB card. And bigger is better. An 8GB card in your camera is preferable to four 2GB cards in your bag.

CF card speed is rated in multiples of X, in which 1X equals 1.5KB/sec transfer. The higher the number, the faster the card. CF cards rated 266X (39MB/sec) and above use a new technology called UDMA. Right now, only a few pricey cameras can write at this speed. But the format will become more prevalent in DSLRs of all levels in the next few years.

Even if your camera can’t write at UDMA speeds, with a UDMA CF card you’ll never miss a shot — it can always keep up with the DSLR’s burst and buffer rates. It also will save you time when downloading images to your computer. An 8GB UDMA CF card running through a FireWire 800 UDMA CF reader can unload its photos to your hard drive in less than 4 minutes. That’s fast.

Delkin, Hoodman, Kingston, Lexar, and SanDisk all make 8GB UDMA cards and/or readers. You won’t go wrong with any of them. A Hoodman 8GB RAW UDMA card (280X) plus RAW Reader costs about $310; so does an 8GB SanDisk Extreme Ducati Edition UDMA card plus FW800 Extreme Reader. Delkin’s 8GB CF Pro UDMA card plus Reader-39 street for $250. The Kingston Ultimate 266X card alone is $170 (street).

Want a bargain? You can get a Lexar Professional 8GB UDMA card plus Lexar FireWire 800 reader for about $230. The card bristles with software: Image Rescue 3, Backup n Sync, and Corel Paint Shop Pro X. So it’s a heck of a deal in big, fast CF cards.

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