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September 2010 | Don Norris
Research and fun were on our Editor's mind while trawling the net's byways in search of interesting and useful photography sites.
Scary but fun
bit.ly/PRA44ne1
File this under the heading of 'what could possibly go wrong...' Here is a DIY project for those who don't mind living dangerously. Photojojo.com's 'Freelensing' page shows you how to create those diorama looking tilt-shift pictures by the simple expedient of removing your lens and holding it in front of your camera. You can use it for bellow-less macro pictures - if you're game.
Not Blind Freddy
bit.ly/PRA44ne2
Fred Miranda's site is one that should be on every photo shopper's bookmark list. There are hundreds of user reviews of lenses, as well as Canon and Nikon DSLRs and various photo accessories (flashes, tripods, etc). Because each review includes a rating value, it is possible to quickly scan down a list of lenses, for instance, to see which models have earned the highest scores from the greatest number of reviewers. Hours of fun for gear freaks!
In the zone
bit.ly/PRA44ne3
Although this lens and camera review site is based in Germany, it has a good English language mode. Reviews are not exhaustive, but the methodology is consistently applied and there are an impressive number of lenses in their database. There are a limited number of camera reviews, but it is a useful research resource for lens buyers.
Lenses and only lenses
bit.ly/PRA44ne4
Lens-reviews.com is, as the name plainly states, devoted to reviews of lenses from a variety of manufacturers. The reviews are all generated by site visitors, but they seem to mostly be of a reasonable - if impressionistic - standard. Not perhaps where you go for the last word, but taken in conjunction with other resources, a handy way to get a fix on what other users think of a particular piece of glass.
Sounds like a picture
bit.ly/PRA44ne5
RGB MusicLab is one of the more intriguing concepts we've stumbled across. To quote from the freeware application's home page, the tool 'converts RGB (Red, Green and Blue) value of an image and surface points (X, Y, Z) of 3D object to chromatic scale sounds.' We tried it with several images and the results with landscapes were less melodic and more sort of experimental. Portraits seemed to be a little more melodic. There are lots of settings to play with, so with some experimentation who knows what you might come up with?
Try to resist this one
bit.ly/PRA44ne6
Photo505 is a surprisingly addictive little site. It automagically incorporates a picture you've uploaded into a stock image on the Photo505 site. There are dozens of background images to choose from (pictures hanging in galleries, shopfront displays, mosaics, street furniture, parties, famous events, etc), but the impressive thing is how your image is blended into the background stock shot. The matching process incorporates facial recognition and a wide range of effects to deliver a professional-looking final result. And you don't have to do anything but wait and then download your new picture.
This is an article from Photo Review Magazine Jun-Aug 2010 Issue 44.
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