Photography – Blog by Robin Speichermann https://speichermann.org Apple addicted, Car-addicted, Tech, Photography, Video/Photo editing, 3D-Printing, Blogger, Python/C++-Noob, Geocacher Tue, 08 Aug 2023 21:04:55 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.1 https://speichermann.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cropped-LOGO-Website-32x32.png Photography – Blog by Robin Speichermann https://speichermann.org 32 32 Canon 50mm Lens: The Essential Must-Have for Every Canon Owner? https://speichermann.org/photography/canon-50mm-lens-the-essential-must-have-for-every-canon-owner/ https://speichermann.org/photography/canon-50mm-lens-the-essential-must-have-for-every-canon-owner/#respond Fri, 21 Apr 2023 13:22:04 +0000 https://speichermann.org/?p=2731 Reading Time: 3 minutesI have been using the Canon EOS 90D for some time and was looking for a more light sensitive lens in addition to my 18-135mm]]> Reading Time: 3 minutes

I have been using the Canon EOS 90D for some time and was looking for a more light sensitive lens in addition to my 18-135mm kit lens. After some searching I ended up with the EF 50mm, because the price is extremely low I gave it a try. I had the lens with me on holiday and was then able to test it for a few days, so I also have a rough impression in comparison to the kit lens.

The biggest advantage of the EF 50mm 1.8 is its extreme light sensitivity. This is usually only found in much more expensive lenses than this 130€ lens from Canon. The background is beautifully blurred without having to turn up the ISO too fast. This makes it possible to take beautiful pictures indoors without immediate image noise. Especially in comparison to the 18-135mm kit lens, which has a light sensitivity of 3.5-5.6, I noticed the massive difference in depth of field with close objects and much more clear pictures indoors.

The picture on the right was taken at F2.5 1/80 ISO 200 in a well-lit interior. By the way, this is a “1960 Buick Guerra LeSabre Cabriolet” in the Motorworld Munich.

Since the EOS 90D has an APSC sensor, you don’t shoot with a real 50mm but with a crop factor of 1.6, which results in an actual focal length of 80mm. Compared to the kit lens, you really have to move quite a bit further away and need a lot of space. It can take a minute or two to find a time when no one is walking through the picture when you are in a museum or similar.

You also have to be aware that you have to use a prime focal length and have no possibility of zooming. You either have to get closer to the subject or digitally zoom in later using software, which then has a negative effect on the quality. However, I have to say that once you have found the ideal angle, the pictures become pretty cool with little effort, in my opinion.

F.2.5 1/80 ISO 200

STM Motor / Image Stabilization

The STM motor works very well and focuses very fast. I honestly couldn’t notice any difference compared to the USM motor on my kit lens. I also did some videos with the 50mm and really noticed almost no noise from the STM motor. So if you don’t just want to make videos with the lens, the motor should be fine. Another thing is that the lens doesn’t have image stabilisation, so videos can only be stabilised digitally by the camera itself or later in the editing program. I’ve already noticed that with my videos, the videos quickly become very shaky, especially when you’re walking, which doesn’t make watching them very pleasant. So the lens is only of limited use for videos.  For me, this is the biggest negative point of the lens.

What’s new with the updated version?

Compared to the previous version of the 50mm 1.8, Canon now uses an STM motor instead of the old USM motor, which many owners found too noisy. The old version was also criticised for not feeling very high quality because of the plastic used. The new version of the 50mm lens now has a metal bayonet instead of a plastic bayonet and higher quality plastic on the rest of the materials. I have to say that the lens feels very high quality and doesn’t look cheap at all, which is a really positive surprise for the price.

Overall, I think the lens is great, especially in relation to the price. The only thing you should be aware of is that you don’t have an image stabiliser and that at 50mm you have to be quite a distance away from the subject you are photographing. If you can accept these compromises, you have a light-sensitive, affordable and lightweight lens with which you can take cool and interesting photos in many situations.

]]> https://speichermann.org/photography/canon-50mm-lens-the-essential-must-have-for-every-canon-owner/feed/ 0 Rollei Compact Traveller No.1 – best all-round travel-tripod! https://speichermann.org/photography/rollei-compact-traveller-no-1-best-all-round-travel-tripod/ https://speichermann.org/photography/rollei-compact-traveller-no-1-best-all-round-travel-tripod/#respond Tue, 02 Aug 2022 12:36:04 +0000 https://speichermann.org/?p=2485 Reading Time: 4 minutesI was looking for a very small and reasonably light travel tripod for my 90D, so thanks to Prime Day I came out with the]]> Reading Time: 4 minutes

I was looking for a very small and reasonably light travel tripod for my 90D, so thanks to Prime Day I came out with the Rollei Compact Traveller No.1. There is one version of the tripod made of aluminum and one made of carbon. I deliberately bought the slightly heavier aluminum version. You will find out why I did that further down in the post. The following review will therefore mostly refer to the aluminum version.

If you have already dealt with travel tripods, you will have quickly noticed that they are characterized by the fact that the legs are folded to the central column. This reduces the size of the tripod quite a bit and makes it easier to transport. When folded, the tripod is about 34cm long and weighs 1.2Kg. The working height of the tripod is 33-142cm, which is perfect for me.
To make it easier to transport the tripod, Rollei has included a small case in which you can also put the cell phone attachment for the tripod and the Allen key. My iPhone 13 Pro Max just fits in without the case. Even with a thin case, the holder no longer fits. No Big Deal honestly, as I saw the smartphone to 1/4 inch “adapter” only as a nice addition. I use the tripod in the absolute majority of cases for long exposure shots or Timelapse videos with my Canon Camera.
Especially for long exposures it is important not to move the camera and to keep it at the same position on the tripod.

In order to be able to guarantee this even with some wind, Rollei has placed a small hook for a backpack at the bottom of the center column of the tripod, which makes the tripod more stable. Even if the tripod moves just a few millimeters, it can be that the whole photo is “broken”.
In general, the tripod makes a high-quality and very good impression. You always have to keep in mind that the aluminum version costs less than 65€, which is a really good deal. The carbon version, which is slightly lighter, currently goes for 90€ on Amazon.

Carbon vs Aluminum

For 25€ more I get the carbon version of the tripod instead of the aluminum version. So why should I go for the heavier aluminum version? Simple. The aluminum tripod is slightly more stable than the carbon tripod. With the aluminum version, I can retract the center column until the ball head reaches the top ends of the legs. With the carbon version, I cannot retract the lower part of the center column in the picture. This part is always located out and therefore costs a large part of stability and flexibility. So if I want to move my camera down a little bit I can’t just move the lower part of the center column in the picture down a little bit. I have to individually retract all three legs a bit. Thanks to the quick-release fasteners, this is reasonably fast, but never as fast as the aluminum version.
Since I previously used a cheaper tripod without a proper ball head, I am very happy with the ball head of the Rollei tripod. However, I noticed that you can not turn the camera individually in the horizontal, but with the screw which loosens the ball head can also move the camera vertically at the same time. There is no way to turn the camera only in the horizontal or only in the vertical. A small disadvantage, which was better solved in the carbon tripod.
Thanks to the quick-release plate, which both tripods include, the camera can be placed quickly and securely on the tripod. The plate is permanently attached to the bottom of the camera with the 1/4 inch screw. Then you only have to align the plate correctly using the two water levels on the ball head and you’re ready to go. Sometimes the plate on the camera bothers a little, because the camera now no longer lies flat on the table.
You can also use both tripods as a monopod. For this, you just have to unscrew the matching leg with the included Allen key and put on the ball head. It works perfectly, even if I will never use it.

For me, the Rollei Compact Traveller No.1 Aluminium is the perfect tripod. It’s small and compact, which makes it easy to take with you on any vacation. The tripod is quick to set up thanks to the rotating quick-release fasteners on the legs and is also quite stable for the weight. I think for the price of 65€ the tripod is an absolute nobrainer. So if you are looking for the perfect travel tripod, I can only say GO FOR IT! 

Update (January 2023): When taking long exposures, the camera shakes even when there is no wind and the top extension is not unfolded. I would definitely buy the tripod again, but if someone mainly takes long exposures I would purchase a more stable tripod.

]]> https://speichermann.org/photography/rollei-compact-traveller-no-1-best-all-round-travel-tripod/feed/ 0 Photo Spots in Frankfurt am Main https://speichermann.org/photography/photo-spots-in-frankfurt-am-main/ https://speichermann.org/photography/photo-spots-in-frankfurt-am-main/#respond Tue, 02 Nov 2021 16:48:01 +0000 https://speichermann.org/?p=2024 Reading Time: 3 minutesPhoto Spots in Frankfurt am Main Café Utopia This is definitely one of my favorite shots from Frankfurt. This shot was also taken while walking]]> Reading Time: 3 minutes

Photo Spots in Frankfurt am Main

Café Utopia

This is definitely one of my favorite shots from Frankfurt. This shot was also taken while walking by as I walk to the Main. The neon look is super Instagram-like and just super popular. If you want to get this shot, it definitely needs to be dark or it will only look half as good.

EOS 90D 1/125 F.4 ISO 640

Deutsche Bank Skyscraper

This shot was less planned, but more spontaneous. You can see in the picture the Deutsche Bank skyscraper, which was photographed from Götheplatz through Junghofstraße. In my opinion, the shot looks at its best when it is just getting dark. Since there is usually a lot of traffic in Frankfurt, you also usually have cars in the picture, but I think the cars give a cool look.

EOS 90D 1/60 F.3.5 I

Eiserner Steg

The Eiserner Steg is a bridge that crosses the Main River. You can take great photos here in daylight, but it also looks cool at night. The complete bridge is well lighted. Since I wanted to take off this shot something from the typical FFM Instagram pictures, I photographed my iPhone, which looks super interesting by the depth of field in my opinion. In the evening, there are often many people sitting on the Main river, so you often have to photoshop people out of the pictures that don’t fit there.

EOS 90D 1/40 F.3.5 ISO 6400

Mainkai

There is always something going on in Frankfurt. The residents even sometimes compare Frankfurt with New York and call FFM “Mainhattan” :)). On weekends in Frankfurt there are always events, demos or new  restaurants that open. This time it was a bike demo at Mainkai. A few months before, an autonomous bus for public transport was tested at the Mainkai.

I happened to photograph the guy who made a chain of lights on his bike, that I thought look super cool in the dark. So thanks to that random for the cool shot!

EOS 90D 1/60 F.4.97 ISO 6400

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]]> https://speichermann.org/photography/photo-spots-in-frankfurt-am-main/feed/ 0 Canon EOS 90D – A worthy successor to the 80d? https://speichermann.org/photography/canon-eos-90d-a-worthy-successor-to-the-80d/ https://speichermann.org/photography/canon-eos-90d-a-worthy-successor-to-the-80d/#comments Sun, 01 Aug 2021 20:32:03 +0000 https://speichermann.org/?p=1934 Reading Time: 2 minutesSince I’ve always been an iPhone-only photographer, I decided to buy an SLR camera. My father had an EOS 300D from 2004, which is no]]> Reading Time: 2 minutes

Since I’ve always been an iPhone-only photographer, I decided to buy an SLR camera. My father had an EOS 300D from 2004, which is no comparison to the new one. It’s sick how much technology has changed. I have already taken a few photos with the new camera and would like to share my experiences in this blog post.

I chose the Canon EOS 90D with the 18-135 f./3.5-5.6 to have a good all-rounder lens. I bought the 90D for about 1500€, which I think is a reasonable price.

The camera has 32.5 megapixels and the photos look extremely sharp. Since I previously took a few photos with my father’s 300D, I am used to extremely slow autofocus. The EOS 90D’s autofocus is stupidly fast. It’s incredible how fast the Kamere focuses. Furthermore, the camera can record videos in 4k/30, which was very important to me.

Furthermore, you can connect this camera via WIFI / Bluetooth with the cell phone. My GoPro has a smooth transmission in real-time to the phone. Unfortunately, the transfer to the cell phone is a bit shaky, but it is still useful and very practical in some moments.

A new feature of the EOS 90D compared to the 80D is the joystick to adjust the focus fields. It’s definitely an upgrade and faster, but you’re usually faster with the touch display.

According to Canon, you can take up to 1300 photos with one battery. From my own experience, I can say that the battery lasts forever. I went to Frankfurt with a half-full battery and have been 3 hours shooting. After about 300 pictures and a few videos, the battery was still as full as before.

On vacation, I very often make videos and montages. The Canon makes really sharp recordings and has sufficient image stabilization. It is really fun to take photos and videos with this camera! It is really something completely different than when you are on the road with the iPhone.

All in all, the Canon EOS 90D is the ideal camera for me. The 90D can take stunning photos and even 4K videos are no problem. I can recommend this Kamerea every newcomer!

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