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OUGD504 - Studio Brief 2 - Final Research.

I needed to know what the best camera and best lens would be for each final result lead from the 'What Camera?' dialogue.

I have three main categories, with three subcategories, and then five sub-subcategories. This ends in 45 different results. I realised this would be quite silly to spend the time researching this rather than designing and so the results would be the same whether you click amateur, intermediate or professional. This wouldn't matter too much as they are still the highest recommended cameras and lenses for each practice no matter what your level. I also highlighted each word which I felt needed to be in the terminology page to find their meanings after.

Lower price range: 

Canon EOS 1100D - £330.00

First released in 2011, the Canon EOS 1100D - also known as the Rebel T3i in the USA - continues to serve as the entry point to Canon's extensive DSLR system. Employing a 12.4MP CMOS sensor and a nine-point autofocus system, the 1100D is compatible with Canon's huge range of EF-mount lenses. Simple to use and capable of great results, it's a fantastic camera to learn the ropes with and build your DSLR skills, although given that it's a couple of years old now it is starting to lag behind some of the newer competition in terms of features.
Read more at http://www.whatdigitalcamera.com/roundups/camera/507500/1/best-entry-level-dslrs-2013-our-top-five-entry-level-dslrs-of-the-year.html#qQUe4LuRF4dklct4.99


Portraits:

Canon EF 50mm f1.8 Mark II - £83.00

Canon’s EF 50mm f1.8 Mark II is an ideal choice for portrait and low-light photography on a budget. The 50mm focal length is a little short for classic portrait work on a full-frame camera, but mount it on a cropped-frame model and it becomes equivalent to 80mm, a perfect length for portraits. Meanwhile, the f1.8 aperture can deliver a blurred background and gathers more than eight times as much light as the EF-S 18-55mm kit lens when zoomed-in. Truly the thrifty-fifty.

Landscapes:


Canon EF-S 55-250mm f4-5.6 IS MkII - £216.00


This compact and affordable telephoto zoom lens features 4 stops of Image Stabilisation which also has automatic panning detection. This overrides the image stabiliser in the vertical or horizontal direction when panning is detected.

The equivalent focal length of 88-400mm covers a long zoom range and the inclusion of a
UD (Ultra Low Dispersion) Element gives extremely low secondary chromatic aberration and therefore high colour accuracy. As well as this, Super Spectra Coatings help to eliminate ghosting and flare. Finally there is a circular aperture to give a pleasing smoothness to defocused backgrounds (good “bokeh”).

Sport:


Canon EF-S 55-250mm f4-5.6 IS MkII - £216.00


This compact and affordable telephoto zoom lens features 4 stops of Image Stabilisation which also has automatic panning detection. This overrides the image stabiliser in the vertical or horizontal direction when panning is detected.

The equivalent focal length of 88-400mm covers a long zoom range and the inclusion of a UD (Ultra Low Dispersion) Element gives extremely low secondary chromatic aberration and therefore high colour accuracy. As well as this, Super Spectra Coatings help to eliminate ghosting and flare. Finally there is a circular aperture to give a pleasing smoothness to defocused backgrounds.


Macro:

Tamron SP 90mm f2.8 Di Macro - £330.00

The SP 90mm F/2.8 Di enjoys enviable DNA from Tamron's original SP 90mm F/2.8, further refined for the demands of high-resolution digital imaging. Extraordinary 1:1 (life-size) close up capacity, combined with what many consider an ideal portraiture focal length (when used on full-frame DSLR or 35mm SLR cameras) this prime optic was nicknamed "the portrait macro." Equally at home on APS-C DSLRs, rendering a picture angle equivalent of the 140mm lens on a full-frame DSLR or 35mm SLR camera, photographers appreciate the resulting increase in front element-to-subject distance and close-up photography. In addition, this 135mm-like picture angle is well-suited for environmental portraiture. Extraordinary sharpness, striking contrast and a remarkable absence of distortion combine to produce images of exceptional caliber.

All:


Canon EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS MkII Lens - £150.00


Covering the equivalent of 29-88mm on a 35mm camera, this light and compact lens is ideal for general photography, giving
wide angle, standard and short telephoto perspectives. Four stops of image stabilisation give you much more scope to shoot in low light too.

Middle price range:

Canon EOS 600D - £360.00

The Canon EOS 600D (also known as the Rebel T3i in some markets) was originally released in March 2011 and has since been succeeded by the EOS 650 (now discontinued) and, more recently, the EOS 700D. In spite of this the 600D is still listed by Canon as a ‘current' model and yet because of its age the 600D has dropped significantly in price, making it something of a bargain for the cash-strapped buyer. At its heart the 600D uses an 18MP APS-C CMOS sensor, Canon's DIGIC IV image processor and a 9-point AF module. Sensitivity stretches from ISO 100-6400 with an expanded ISO 12,800 setting also available, while continuous shooting stretches to 3.7fps at full resolution. On the back you'll find a tilt-and-swivel 3in/1040k-dot LCD display. In addition to the full complement of PASM exposure modes the 600D also provides 1080p Full HD movie recording at 30fps.
Read more at http://www.whatdigitalcamera.com/roundups/camera/539892/1/best-mid-range-dslrs-2013-our-top-five-mid-range-dslrs-of-the-year.html#zJalbf4GoIAgqybG.99


Portraits:

Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM - £280.00

Canon’s EF 50mm f1.4 USM is another ideal portrait lens for cropped bodies and a step-up from the f1.8 model above. The higher price gets you a brighter aperture which at f1.4 can gather 16 times more light than the EF-S 18-55mm kit lens when zoomed-in. You also get USM focusing which is quicker and quieter than the f1.8 model, not to mention easier manual focusing and superior build quality. If you can afford it, it’s worth spending the extra.

Landscapes:

Canon EF-S 18-200mm f3.5-5.6 IS - £420.00

Compact, lightweight and a wide magnification range - this standard zoom lens features a wide focal length range from normal to telephoto equivalent to 29-320mm in the 35mm format. It features an Optical Image Stabilizer for up to 4-stops of effective correction even at full zoom. Since Canon's optical image stabilization system is in the lens, not in the camera, you can see the stabilized, steadier images through the viewfinder. And the circular aperture can give beautiful background blur effects. In summary this wide zoom ratio EF-S lens delivers excellent high-speed performance at an affordable price. 

Sport:

Canon EF-S 18-200mm f3.5-5.6 IS - £420.00

Compact, lightweight and a wide magnification range - this standard zoom lens features a wide focal length range from normal to telephoto equivalent to 29-320mm in the 35mm format. It features an Optical Image Stabilizer for up to 4-stops of effective correction even at full zoom. Since Canon's optical image stabilization system is in the lens, not in the camera, you can see the stabilized, steadier images through the viewfinder. And the circular aperture can give beautiful background blur effects. In summary this wide zoom ratio EF-S lens delivers excellent high-speed performance at an affordable price. 

Macro:

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM - £420.00

Autofocus lens for macro photography up to life-size (1x) magnification. Inner focusing affords a long working distance of 5.9in. (149mm) at 1x. A 3-group floating system results in excellent delineation at all focusing distances. Ring USM for silent and high-speed AF, and full-time manual focusing also provided.

All:

Canon EF-S 15-85mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM - £580.00

The EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM sets a new standard for everyday photography on APS-C sensors. With a focal length range equivalent to 24-136mm in 35mm format, image stabilization and high-precision optics, the EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM offers stellar performance from wide-angle through to telephoto.

Higher price range:


Canon EOS 5D Mark III - £2300.00

While it doesn't come particularly cheap the Canon EOS 5D Mark III is one of the very best DSLRs on the market, with a generous range of advanced shooting options backed up by some of the best image quality of any DSLR.
At its heart the 5D Mark III uses a 22.3MP full-frame CMOS sensor and Canon's latest DIGIC 5+ image processor. Other highlights include a 61-point AF module, an extensive ISO 100-25,600 sensitivity range (expandable to ISO 102,400) and Full HD movie recording. If you've got the money, then the 5D Mark III is an absolute beast of a camera.

Read more at http://www.whatdigitalcamera.com/roundups/camera/428838/1/best-dslrs-of-2013.html#Jr8PTpzgA2AuOPD8.99


Portraits:


Canon EF 85mm F1.2 USM - £1750.00

Retaining the impressive optical performance and large aperture of the original EF 85mm f/1.2L USM, this new medium telephoto lens uses a Ring-type USM, high-speed CPU and optimized algorithms to achieve an autofocus speed approximately 1.8x faster than the original. The high-speed AF and circular aperture create a shallow depth-of-field that brings attention to the subject and blurs the background, which is ideal for portraits and weddings. The floating optical system, which includes an aspherical lens element, suppresses aberrations and ensures excellent imaging performance.

Landscapes:


Canon EF 70-200mm f4 USM - £528.00


High-performance, L-series telephoto zoom lens combining light weight and compactness with an f/4 maximum aperture. Inner focusing and the ring USM enable quick and quiet autofocusing. Also, a circular polarizing filter can be attached and used without difficulty because the front lens element does not rotate during focusing. The tripod collar (sold separately) is the same one used with the EF 300mm f/4L USM.


Sport:



Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM - £1280.00

If you want a quality telephoto zoom with longer reach, consider the EF 100-400mm IS USM. Compatible with both cropped and full-frame bodies (and delivering equivalent coverage up to 640mm on the former), it’s ideal for capturing distant action or wildlife. The ‘L’ build quality is superb and there’s quick and quiet USM focusing along with Image Stabilisation. 


Macro:



Canon EF 180mm f/3.5L Macro USM - £970.00


Use this lens to take life-size close-ups from a distance without disturbing the subject (insects, etc.). The internal floating system minimizes fluctuations in aberrations caused by changes in the focusing distance. The delineation is therefore razor-sharp from 1x to infinity.

All:


t - £1650.00


The 24-70mm f/2.8 II is intended to be a workhorse lens for professional photographers that has to deliver the best possible results in a wide range of conditions. It uses a suitably exotic optical design for this purpose, with 18 elements in 13 groups, including two 2 ultra-low dispersion (UD) glass elements and one Super UD aspheric element to minimize aberrations. Naturally it uses Canon's ring-type ultrasonic motor for fast, silent focus with full-time manual override, along with a circular aperture diaphragm for attractive background blur.




Terminology:


APS-C:

Advanced Photo System type-C (APS-C) is an image sensor format approximately equivalent in size to the Advanced Photo System "classic" size negatives. These negatives were 25.1 × 16.7 mm and had an aspect ratio 3:2.

Aperture:

In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture of an optical system is the opening that determines the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. The size of this is measured with the term “F-stop” the lower the f number, the wider the lens can open allowing more light in.

Cropped Frame:

A cropped frame or sensor is similar to taking the middle of the image and discarding the outside edges. So essentially, you're left with a slightly thinner image than normal -- similar in shape to the short-lived APS film format.

DSLR:

A digital single-lens reflex camera (also called a digital SLR or DSLR) is a digital camera combining the optics and the mechanisms of a single-lens reflex camera with a digital imaging sensor, as opposed to photographic film.

EF Mount:

Introduced in 1987, the EF lens mount is the standard lens mount on the Canon EOS family of SLR film and digital cameras. EF stands for "Electro-Focus": automatic focusing on EF lenses is handled by a dedicated electric motor built into the lens. Mechanically, it is a bayonet-style mount, and all communication between camera and lens takes place through electrical contacts; there are no mechanical levers or plungers.

EF-S Mount:

The Canon EF-S lens mount is a derivative of the EF lens mount created for a subset of Canon digital single-lens reflex cameras with APS-C sized image sensors. It was released in 2003. Cameras with the EF-S mount are backward-compatible with the EF lenses and, as such, have a flange focal distance of 44.0 mm. Such cameras, however, have more clearance, allowing lens elements to be closer to the sensor than in the EF mount. Only Canon cameras released after 2003 with APS-C sized sensors support the EF-S mount.

Focal Length:

The focal length of an optical system is a measure of how strongly the system converges or diverges light. For an optical system in air, it is the distance over which initially collimated rays are brought to a focus. A system with a shorter focal length has greater optical power than one with a long focal length; that is, it bends the rays more strongly, bringing them to a focus in a shorter distance.

FPS:

Frame rate, also known as frame frequency and frames per second (FPS), is the frequency (rate) at which an imaging device produces unique consecutive images called frames. The term applies equally well to film and video cameras, computer graphics, and motion capture systems. Frame rate is most often expressed in frames per second (FPS) and is also expressed in progressive scan monitors as hertz (Hz).

Full Frame:

A full-frame digital SLR is a digital single-lens reflex camera (DSLR) fitted with an image sensor that is the same size as a 35 mm (36×24 mm) film frame.[1][2] This is in contrast to cameras with smaller sensors, typically of a size equivalent to APS-C-size film, much smaller than a full 35 mm frame.

Image Processor:

An image processor, image processing engine, also called media processor, is a specialized digital signal processor used for image processing in digital cameras, mobile phones or other devices.[1][2] Often it is a system on a chip with multi-processor / multi-core processor architecture, using parallel computing even with SIMD or MIMD technologies to increase speed and efficiency.

Image Stabilisation:

Image stabilization (IS) is a family of techniques used to reduce blurring associated with the motion of a camera during exposure. Specifically, it compensates for pan and tilt (angular movement, equivalent to yaw and pitch) of a camera or other imaging device.

ISO:

Film speed is the measure of a photographic film's sensitivity to light, determined by sensitometry and measured on various numerical scales, the most recent being the ISO system. A closely related ISO system is used to measure the sensitivity of digital imaging systems.

Macro:

Macro photography (or photomacrography[1] or macrography,[2] and sometimes macrophotography[3]), invented by Fritz Goro,[4] is extreme close-up photography, usually of very small subjects, in which the size of the subject in the photograph is greater than life size (though macrophotography technically refers to the art of making very large photographs).

PASM:

Program mode, aperture priority, shutter priority, and manual modes on the mode dial in SLR photographic cameras.

Secondary Chromatic Aberration:

This is when all colors don't come to focus in exactly the same place. It has nothing to do with color rendition, purity or saturation, which are related to color transmission and contrast. When you have chromatic aberration you lose sharpness and may see various colors fringes on bright edges.

Sensor:

An image sensor is a device that converts an optical image into an electronic signal. It is used mostly in digital cameras, camera modules and other imaging devices.

Telephoto:

In photography and cinematography, a telephoto lens is a specific type of a long-focus lens in which the physical length of the lens is shorter than the focal length.[1] This is achieved by incorporating a special lens group known as a telephoto group that extends the light path to create a long-focus lens in a much shorter overall design.

Dispersion:

In optics, dispersion is the phenomenon in which the phase velocity of a wave depends on its frequency,[1] or alternatively when the group velocity depends on the frequency. Media having such a property are termed dispersive media. Dispersion is sometimes called chromatic dispersion to emphasize its wavelength-dependent nature, or group-velocity dispersion (GVD) to emphasize the role of the group velocity.

USM:

The Ultrasonic Motor (USM) is an AF (auto focus) driving motor which Canon commercialized for the first time in the world. Conventional motors convert electromagnetic force into rotational force. Ultrasonic motors, on the other hand, are based on a completely new principle in which rotational force is generated from ultrasonic vibrational energy.

Wide Angle:

In photography and cinematography, a wide-angle lens refers to a lens whose focal length is substantially smaller than the focal length of a normal lens for a given film plane. This type of lens allows more of the scene to be included in the photograph, which is useful in architectural, interior and landscape photography where the photographer may not be able to move farther from the scene to photograph it.

35mm:

35 mm film is the film gauge most commonly used for chemical still photography (see 135 film) and motion pictures. The name of the gauge refers to the width of the photographic film, which consists of strips 34.98 ±0.03 mm (1.377 ±0.001 inches) wide.


OUGD504 - Studio Brief 2 - Coding Research.

The first thing I looked up how to do for my website was how to make the background a fullscreen image. I found an article that explained it all very well, followed the instructions and it worked.

http://paulmason.name/item/full-screen-background-image-pure-css-code

First, I made my background image 1600 x 1110 px and then used the coding as mentioned. This worked really well apart from the fact I had a scroll bar on the side and I wanted the wrapper to be fixed so I changed it.


I knew from Simon's sessions how to insert a navigation bar, but had no idea how to give it an opacity so I found out here:

http://forum.bytesforall.com/showthread.php?t=5050



 

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