If you’re a Shutterbug reader you likely own a few lenses, or at least a couple zooms offering a variety of focal lengths. But do you really understand how the focal length you choose impacts more than just the magnification of a subject?

Today’s “Ultimate Guide” from the Behind the Tripod YouTube channel provides everything you need to know. It’s intended for those new to photography, and for more experienced shooters who want to improve their skills. By demystifying the concept of focal length this lesson will help you understand how making subtle changes can have a dramatic effect on the impact of every photograph you shoot.

Instructor Steve Mills provides a brief explanation of optical theory, takes a look at how focal lengths are measured, and how they work to create amazing images in a wide variety of situations. By the time you’re done watching you’ll know exactly what lens to pull out of your bag the next time you’re in the field.

The lesson begins with a bit of optical science, and then you’ll watch Mills on location using lenses of different focal lengths to illustrate all the practical implications. He starts with a 14-24mm zoom to explain the various options you have with a single lens. He also discusses fixed- focal-length prime lenses. And the principles are the same, as they are when using a long telephoto zoom.

Mills also explains how the size of your camera’s sensor affects the “effective” focal length of a lens when shooting with crop-sensor cameras with an APS-C  or micro-four-thirds format. This is why things look differently through the viewfinder of a full-frame camera than they do when using cameras with smaller sensors—even when the focal length of the lens is the same.

With all the theory out of the way Mills moves out into the field for practical examples of what you just leaned. He sets up a simple shot of a boulder and demonstrates how the subject appears when using focal lengths from 14-200mm and a few others in between.

Pay close attention to how both the size and shape of his subject changes as the focal length changes. But there are other very important considerations, like the appearance of the background as Mills moves further and further back while shooting with longer and longer focal lengths. By now you’ve probably guessed that’s there’s a big shift in depth of field and perspective.

You may find it helpful to have a camera and a couple lenses handy as you watch this eye-opening tutorial, so you can pause the video, experiment a bit, and see for yourself. When you’re done head over to Mill’s instructional YouTube channel for more simple shooting advice.

And don’t miss the earlier tutorial we posted on a related subject, explaining how to use lens filters to shoot nature and landscape photographs with maximum impact.

With all the excitement over Photoshop’s Generative Fill Capabilities you’d think that these tools would do a great job at replacing a boring sky. But one of our favorite image-editing instructors says that Generative Fill fails miserably at this common task.

Instructor Anthony Morganti has been exploring Generative Fill since it was available in beta. In this episode he explains how to use Photoshop’s conventional sky replacement tools after demonstrating why Generative Fill does such a “horrible” job—even if all you’re trying to do is add clouds to an existing sky.

Morganti pulls up several landscape photos to illustrate his points, just in case you haven’t tried using Generative Fill for this particular purpose. While it’s really easy to do, the results are very disappointing. And here’s the weird thing: The more precise you are in typing a prompt, the worse job Generative Fill does.

In Morganti’s first try the clouds don’t look too bad, but the land on the horizon is pretty screwed up in all three variations he received. After multiple attempts with different prompts, here’s Morganti’s conclusion: “You can do this forever and you will not get anything that looks halfway decent. Trust me on that.” Ouch!

The bottom line is this: If your goal is to replace a dull, boring sky in Photoshop, you need to understand the conventional method for getting the job done without Generative Fill, and Morganti illustrates a straightforward method for achieving realistic and impressive results. He returns to the original image and walks you through the step-by-step process.

Photoshop does offer a standard sky replacement tool that is found by clicking the Edit tab atop the screen and choosing the Sky Replacement option in the dropdown menu that appears. Then you see a number of sky categories built into Photoshop, including Blue Skies, Spectacular Skies, and Sunsets. When you select one of these, Photoshop presenta several options to further refine the look you create.

Morganti chooses Seriously Stormy Skies for his first transformation, explaining why selecting a sky that matches the light in your original photograph is the key to a natural looking swap. You’ll want to pay close attention to the quality, direction, and the color of the light.

One you’ve placed the new sky it’s easy to uses simple sliders to make adjustments to all of the important parameters. For his first example Morganti simply increases brightness and modifies Temperature for a warmer effect. Take a look at what he achieves and compare it to what Generative Fill provided and you’ll be convinced.

Morganti uses this conventional method with a few other images to demonstrate the superiority of this simple approach. In all cases the final images look really great. You can find more editing tips and tricks on Morganti’s popular YouTube channel, so be sure to take a look.

We also recommend watching the tutorial we posted recently from another imaging-editing who explains why Adobe’s DNG file format delivers the power of Raw without any complications.

Autumn has now taken out its paintbrush – decorating the maples, beeches, and oaks near me with dabs of red, yellow, and orange. During this beautiful time of year, my Nikon School class brought together a group of great people and a bunch of interesting Nikon equipment. For the first time, I had the opportunity to shoot with the Nikon Zf and the Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena. I’m already preparing a field review about these new additions to the Nikon Z family. In the meantime, a Great Spotted Woodpecker from South Bohemia and the latest news from the world of photography are flying to you.

Photo by Redd F on Unsplash

Can you buy a camera at a better price in Japan? Many factors suggest that this could seem like a logical conclusion. The Japanese yen has fallen in value against the US dollar over the past several months and now hovers near the psychological barrier of ¥150 to one US dollar. Skyrocketing inflation, stagnant export sales and a weak yen are exacerbating the struggles of the Japanese economy. Has this cocktail of financial havoc generated bargains for photographers?

If you are planning to visit Japan or have a friend or relative living there, it may have crossed your mind that you may be able to score a deal on a new mirrorless Sony, Nikon, Fujifilm or Canon camera now that the US dollar is so strong vs the Japanese yen. It’s crossed ours, too, so we decided to do a little investigating.

By no means do we suggest that you abandon your USA retailer, and we’re definitely not suggesting you attempt to order online from a Japanese store—if you could find one willing to sell to you. There are several good reasons not to buy a camera intended for the Japanese domestic market. For starters, you can forget about the warranty (this may differ from state to state) and most aftermarket assistance. If you use a bank card you’ll be charged international transactions fees, and you may not get the best exchange rate. Then there are the shipping and insurance costs.

Nonetheless, we’ve compiled some data that we hope you find interesting.

The Facts
We checked the pricing of the eight best-selling mirrorless cameras at Yodobashi Camera. With 24 stores and 5,000 employees (as of April 2022), Yodobashi ranks at or near the top of every list of camera retailers. Their 12-month sales for fiscal year ending 3-31-22 reached 753 billion yen—that’s more than $5-billion with a “B” in US dollars.

In addition to cameras and related equipment, Yodobashi sells computers, audio/video equipment, home appliances, watches, mobile phones, game consoles and software, books/e-books, sports/outdoor goods and more.

A visit to the Yodobashi Camera Shinjuku West (Main Store) in Tokyo is nearly an overwhelming experience for any avid photographer. I’ve had the good fortune to visit several Yodobashi locations, and every time I was absolutely flabbergasted by the product displays, range and depth of accessories and overall ambience. If you love photography and have a chance to visit Yodobashi, do so without hesitation.

Prices: 8 Top-Selling Mirrorless Cameras at Yodobashi
All prices in yen were sourced from yodobashi.com. Yen to dollar conversion calculated at ¥149 to $1.00 US, prevailing exchange rate as this is written.

Note that registered members of Yodobashi’s Gold Points program earn discount tokens that can be spent like cash and have a value of 1 point = ¥1. The mirrorless cameras below all earn points equal to 10% of their price.

Sony ZV-E10L Power Zoom Lens Kit
#1 seller and in the Top 100 for 390 days as of this writing. Price ¥99,000
Yen price converted to US dollars excluding bank fees: $664
Typical price at major US retailers: $798
Available from Amazon for $798

Canon EOS R6 Mark II Body Only
#2, Top 100 for 184 days. Price ¥396,000
Yen price converted to US dollars excluding bank fees: $2658
Typical price at major US retailers: $2499
Available from Amazon for $2499

Canon EOS R50 Double Zoom Kit
#3, Top 100 for 127 days, ¥156,200
Yen price converted to US dollars excluding bank fees: $1048
Typical price at major US retailers: $1029
Available from Amazon for $1029

Nikon Z f, 40mm f/2 SE Lens Kit
#4, ¥331,000 (preorder)
Yen price converted to US dollars excluding bank fees: $2221
Typical price at major US retailers: $2236
Preorder directly from Nikon for $2239

Sony a6700, 16-50mm Zoom Kit
#5, 38 days in Top 100, ¥216,890
Yen price converted to US dollars excluding bank fees: $1456
Typical price at major US retailers: $1498
Available directly from Sony for $1499

Fujifilm X-T5 Body Only
#6, Top 100 for 160 days, ¥257,400
Yen price converted to US dollars excluding bank fees: $1728
Typical price at major US retailers: $1699
Available from Amazon for $1699

Sony 7RV Body Only
#7, 173 in Top 100, ¥550,400
Yen price converted to US dollars excluding bank fees: $3694
Typical price at major US retailers: $3899
Available from Amazon for $3898

Nikon Z fc, 16-50mm SL Lens Kit
#8, Top 100 for 172 days, ¥150,700
Yen price converted to US dollars excluding bank fees: $1011
Typical price at major US retailers: $999
Available from Amazon for $996

Conclusion: Are cameras cheaper in Japan?
Nah, camera prices in Japan are not lower than in the US after all, at least when we examine the pricing levels of Japan’s biggest camera retailer.  In most cases, they’re slightly higher. And if you add the inescapable bank fees, warranty coverage, shipping charges and so forth, you’re much better off buying here in the good old USA.

Yes, there are anomalies here and there—like the price of the Sony ZV-E10L Power Zoom Lens Kit—but keep in mind that all pricing examples given here are snapshots of an active market. In other words, the discrepancies may be temporary.

Based on my firsthand experience, you will not find lower prices in Japanese camera stores, but you will find a mind-blowing assortment of accessories, oddities, unique items and other irresistible things that make enthusiastic photographers break out the bank card. If you ever have the opportunity to visit one, go ahead and challenge your self-control.

—Jon Sienkiewicz

 

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