My 7D got some skin.

Shooting the Junior Guard Video on the beach made me nervous about sand and the salty air destroying my Canon 7D. I know my friend John assured me that photographers have put similar cameras through worse conditions, I couldn't help myself to some extra protection from these harsh elements.

I came across the this Delkin model after a long time of searching for "Rubber cases for the Canon 7D". Finally I realized the product is called a "Skin". I thought a rubber skin would provide the perfect protection at the beach while allowing me full access to all the camera's functions, it had to be better than the Opteka rain gear I purchased last month.


1) Putting the skin on the camera is a little annoying. You have to take the camera strap off and back on in order to apply the skin properly. I realize it's not a major drawback, but I was still irked.

2) The LCD cover floats around too much. I think Delkin should have fixed the LCD cover on the skin instead of having it attach independently. I think I'm just going to scrap this cheap piece of plastic since it adds to the glare while checking out the footage on the back of the camera.

3) It gives the camera an entirely different feel that I don't think I like. Sometimes you're not sure the buttons are getting pressed down completely, and the Mfn button on the front is real hard to press down since it's so small.

While I realize I'm complaining a lot about this skin, I'm also glad I have it. I plan to take it off once the Junior Guard project is over, but I'll keep it in my gear bag in case I come across objectionable surroundings again.

Geeking out on my Canon 7D

I've had my 7D for months now, but I haven't been able to work with the supreme video features because of the limited capabilities of my computer... until now.

Fellow lifeguard and photographer, John Hanacek and I are working on the next San Clemente State Junior Lifeguard video. John has the computing power and photography skills to help this project leap to the HD level, which sets us up to create something substantial.

I spent all last week working on several problems I'll face at the beach while filming. I bought a shotgun mic and fuzzy windscreen to overcome the wind and crashing waves competing with the voices I want to record.

A Hoodman was purchased to overcome the bright sun that washes out the LCD screen used during recording. I also purchased a bunch of rubber bands to attach the Hoodman to the camera.

I already had a flash bracket to attach the mic off to the side of the lens to keep it out of the field of view.

I purchased extra neutral density filters to take advantage of the large apertures available on my Canon 50mm 1.4 lens.

I tried a couple of DIY stabalization systems, but in the end I decided to use a monopod along with  an Opteka X-Grip I bought from Amazon.

Day 1 -  I downloaded some picture profiles that were supposed to create a cinematic effect with the 7D. John and I reviewed the footage at the end of the day and noticed everything looked brown and soft. We decided to go with the Standard picture profile for the rest of the shooting.

Day 2 - The new picture profile is working great, and I'm getting better at manually focusing. The shotgun mic works better than expected (Azden SMG-1X), I was able to capture audio from distances beyond what I was able to hear during recording.

Day 3 - I plan to return to shooting this Friday where the Junior Guards will be watching a rescue demonstration. That should be lots of fun.

Stabilizing my 7D for video

One of the problems of shooting video is avoiding the "shaky cam" amateur look. The Internet is littered with products that cost thousands of dollars in hopes to solve this problem.

While I don't have the budget for such a contraption (or the guts not to look stupid wearing one of these suits, I'm opting for the DIY version. I came across this video that inspired me to march over to my local Home Depot tomorrow morning to buy the parts for this simple DSLR stabilizer.

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You need to see this if you have a Canon 7D

I was checking out some videos created with the 7D to get some inspiration and came across this tutorial that opened my eyes. I had no idea this camera was capable of such color manipulation. You've got to check this out. 

<p>How to increase the Canon 7D dynamic range (Tutorial) from Luka on Vimeo.</p>

Be sure to check the page this video was posted on because the author contributed lots of helpful links.

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Shooting Video on the Canon 7D

A couple days ago I decided to shoot some video with my 7d, after all that is one of it's main selling points. What I came across was something unexpected. I realized that not only will shooting video be more difficult, but the files are way too large for me to edit. I'm going to have to invest in a more powerful computer if I'm going to edit HD video. For now I think I'll just stick to 640 x 480.

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Using the 7D with Speedlites

I decided to shoot a quick video on how I'm using the 7D's ability to wirelessly trigger Speedlites. The included photos are the ones I shot during the tutorial. The one with the fuzzy background is the one with the aperture set at f/1.8.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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Having a blast with my 7D

I spent quite a bit of time researching which camera would be best for my needs, the 5D Mark II or the 7D. In the end it was the 7D for several reasons:

1) Cost. The 7D costs much less, allowing me to invest in lenses, filters, and other accessories to improve my photography.

2) Video. The 7D allows multiple frame rates and lots of other goodies that make it great for video work. The advantage of having more lenses come into play as I can create different looks with different focal lengths and apertures.

3) Speedlite control. This camera works amazingly well with my Canon Speedlites. The pop-up flash communicates wirelessly with the flash units to create a seamless and easy remote flash experience.

One of the big advantages I found with the 5D is the increased depth of field. To compensate for this on the 7D I purchased the 50mm 1.4 lens which allows me as tight of a DOF as I'll ever need. I also purchased a Canon 10-22mm lens to compensate for the 1.6 crop factor. This lens allows me to capture large landscapes as well as shots in tight spaces. I realize the 10 mm shots will create barrel distortion, but I just fix that in post processing.

I took this photo this morning with my 10-22mm lens. I was constantly looking behind me to make sure I didn't get hit by a car.

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