In my book, this is the Cadillac of video monitors for the HDSLR! The DP-6 from SmallHD ROCKS!!!

Note: This video was shot with the D7000…compare it with this video shot with the D4. Both shot under the same conditions but you should see a big jump in quality with the D4. I do!

HDSLR video is here and one thing you can’t miss is the focus. Until we have video viewing through the viewfinder, we have to use the LCD. If you’re going to use the LCD and LiveView, then you simply gotta have a Zacuto ZFinderPro!

Note: just received an email from someone who did not put eyepiece cap back in place and while walking and sun hit Zacuto and burnt hole in LCD!

Is Photoshop CS6 worth the price? Since it’s release a week ago, it’s a question I’m hearing more and more and to be totally honest with you, I don’t know. Each and every photographer must figure that out for themselves. After demoing it during my B&H Crits last week, I had a number of folks say afterwards that they needed it. For me, the answer though was really easy, YES!But Photoshop CS6 simply put, saves me time and that, puts money in my pocket!

Let’s start off with you don’t need to buy Extended unless you’re doing 3D. Photoshop for stills and video is part of CS6 and it works great. Now the video editing of Photoshop CS6 is amazing, nothing like any previous version and if you have a HDSLR, it’s a no-brainer why you should buy CS6. What other reasons, here’s the short list:

• 62% more features
• Bicubic Automatic
• Tilt & Shift
• Iris Blur
• ACr 7.1
• Auto Background save (that works!)
• Contact Sheet
• PDF creator
• Content Aware Move Tool
• Clarity has no halos (part of ACR)
• Chormatic Aberation correction on the fly

And this is just the short list! Its faster operation, cleaner UI and so much most just make it a natural. Now I understand it is not inexpensive, so each has to make their own call on upgrading. Adobe has lowered the subscription rate which might help and The Cloud is now up and going. Keep in mind that at the very least, you can download and test drive Photoshop CS6 for 30 days for free. You can find out for yourself if it’s worth the price. Just a warning, if you try it, you’ll like it!

Depth of Field (DOF) seems to truly mystify photographers, probably you just can’t see it with the naked eye or in the viewfinder. But it’s there and it effects every image, every story you’re trying to tell. When you go low to the ground like I did with this Piping Plover, the DOF effect is even more pronounced. This is because DOF is a FLAT PLANE that is ALWAYS parallel with the film plane (digital cameras have a film plane!). When you’re photographing a subject that is parallel to the film plane, with the right background you can see radically just how little DOF you have. In this case, you can clearly see the very narrow band of DOF that is running through the Plover from edge to edge of the frame. Now shooting with a 600VR w/converter connecting to a D4 the DOF working with the narrow angle of view is perhaps 20mm being only 18′ away from the subject. Now if I closed the lens down to f/64 with this combo, my DOF might increase to 60mm. That ain’t much and that’s the whole idea of going down low. I want the small plover to visually pop. Does that help?

CS6 is NOW available and shipping. Here’s some free training that just might help you make the most of it!

Here’s what you’ll see:

How Adobe Creative Cloud helps you break down creative barriers and revolutionizes the art of video production
The redesigned Adobe Premiere Pro CS6–the hub of your post-production workflow. With a streamlined user interface, powerful new trimming tools, and other creative advancements, you’ll see why more and more professional editors are turning to Adobe Premiere Pro.
A faster, more productive After Effects CS6 featuring new features such as Global Performance Cache and the 3D Camera Tracker that add up to what is rumored to be the biggest After Effects release in a decade.
Creative magic in imaging with new Content Aware tools and the fastest performance ever in Photoshop CS6.
New features in Adobe Story and Adobe Audition, as well as brand new tools into the video lineup: Adobe Prelude, a tool created specifically for logging and ingest, and Adobe SpeedGrade, a forward-looking approach to color grading and finishing.

Get Expert Training
Dive deeper into each component of CS6 Production Premium. Learn from industry experts how you can migrate to Adobe Premiere Pro from another editor, optimize your hardware for peak performance, gain color correction tips & tricks, and more. On-site training is available in New York, Washington DC, and LA venues.

Registration is open for these training dates & locations:
• June 5 – New York, NY
• June 7 – Orlando, FL
• June 11 – Washington, D.C.
• June 14 – Atlanta, GA
• June 19 – Dallas, TX
• June 21 – Chicago, IL
• June 26 – San Francisco, CA
• June 30 – Los Angeles, CA

Thanks for all the emails folks…lemme answer the most common questions for you. The B&H Event Space is simply a really cool place to be! The response from all of you who attended has been over the top, thanks ever so much! David Brommer deserves a ton of credit and thanks by all who present and learn in this great space! And David has his hands full when he brings the Mooser in! I did two presentations last Thursday, one I simply unpacked my Think Tank and talked about the gear I shoot with. Images from my last six weeks on the road appeared in the background, D4 features talked about in videos, etc. This class was video tapped and should appear on the B&H network in the near future.

Now my other class was a first for B&H and David and his taking it on just goes to show you how far he will go to help photographers learn. Now I’m a Windows guy, always have been but the Event Space is set up for Macs so when I show up, all hell breaks loose (and for other reasons too). My insistence of doing The Crit class with my Windows machine so I could use CS6 delayed the start of the class so some who traveled a great distance to have me say something about your photos, did have your images hit the screen. You’ve already heard from David (because he is a pro!) and know I’ll be back this fall and we’re going to take care of you. But, this class was not recorded so it won’t appear on the B&H network, sorry. We have a couple great classes planned for this fall so stay tuned though. And thanks for all the NYC Love…it was great!!!

The guy who took care of me for soooo many years getting me the film I needed, Jay @ B&H, well I finally met him and it was GREAT!!! Now he runs the place and he’s there to take care of you! Well, the phone sales at least and in one of life’s great ironies, he runs the Moose 800 hotline at B&H! It’s now all working, got the bugs out and I’ve met with all the guys who will be taking your calls and orders and it’s all good. You call either of these numbers and you’ll get personalized, like Moose assistance and at times, some exclusive deals. The more you use it, the more we can expand it to help you even more. And if you get Jay, tell him Moose sent ya. He’s the best!

I saw this great, iconic sign while in Manhattan and called my skyline fixer and asked if he had access to get the shot and sure enough, a few moments later I was in place. The New Yorker is a sign you can see easily around town but I was looking for an iconic click especially since we had clouds. The shot is not perfect since I don’t have perfect cemetery but it’s a great start. I look forward to making it better next time.

While up there, there was NO way I wasn’t going to ignore the rest of the skyline! I’m not sure what it is, the shapes, colors, water towers, combination there of but whatever it is, the lines just speak to me and I’ve got to photograph them. The architecture is absolutely gorgeous and the transition between new and old just grabs my attention. I am seriously working towards a rooftop workshop where we just shoot these things. I mean, this is just a “noon” light kind of shot and I love them. Just think what it would be like at sunrise, sunset or twilight?!!! You should be asking how I got the buildings so square? Did I use a PC lens? Nope…I went up to them, I shot across to them and not up on them. That makes all the difference in the world. Oh yeah…all these photos are 5 image HDR handheld images shot with D4 & 24-70AFS. No way you can see into the shadows these canyons create without it.