My camera takes crappy pictures, what should I buy?

I've been asked this question numerous times, normally I refer people to this earlier post but I figured I'd rehash the issue and provide some more info.

Essentially it boils down to
a) what exactly are they unhappy with in their current camera
b) what is their budget and
c) is camera size a crucial aspect?

Most of the time when people say they aren't happy with their current camera it due to one of 4 things:
1) Poor lowlight capabilities
2) Poor zoom
3) Pictures aren't sharp enough
4) Too much lag when the shutter is pressed

I'll cover each of these issues and explain why they happen and which type of cameras are affected the most and least.

Common complaints:

Poor lowlight:
All cameras whether film or digital suffer in this environment, photography needs a lot of light because after all we're capturing photons here hence photography ;) In the digital realm it really all boils down to sensor size, the larger the sensor the bigger the "footprint" available for the light to hit. Its like running outside in the rain to collect water, the person with the biggest container is going to get the most water. Point and shoot cameras are immediately at a disadvantage because of their size, smaller body = smaller sensor. If you're dead set on owning a point and shoot you're only real option is to use that nasty on-camera flash to create more light. Digital SLR cameras, having larger sensors, tend to work better than their diminutive point and shoot cousins in this environment. They are still not perfect but they offer a very noticable improvement. At the time of writing this one of the best low-light dSLR's in the entry level range is the Canon Rebel T2i ($979 with 18-55mm kit lens at Don's photo) which yields very acceptable images up to ISO 800. There are more expensive dSLR's with larger sensors (full frame sensors) but these are really out of the price range of most people ($3000+ for just the camera without lenses).

Image sensor sizes, the smallest shown are point and shoot sensors

Poor Zoom:
Once again the point and shoot camera is being dealt a poor hand right of the flop, their small size physically limits the amount of zoom that can be available. Ignore any claims about digital zoom, this is not real zoom at all, it’s the same as blowing it up on your computer and you'll result in a blurry image. Optical zoom is the important number here, 3-5x optical zoom is fairly standtard within the realm of point and shoot cameras (P&S's from hereout) with a few touting 7x optical zoom. When you start going above this range, up to say 14x zoom, you leave the P&S realm and get into the mid-sized "bridge" or "prosumer" cameras. They call them bridge cameras because they bridge the gap between P&S camera and full fledged dSLR's. I tend to tell people to avoid these cameras, the reason is that about 4 out of 5 people that buy them are upgrading because of an interest in photography and end up buying a dSLR soon after anyway. I say skip that expensive step and just go for a dSLR, the size isn't that much bigger than a bridge camera and prices in some instances can be roughly the same. For those scared off by dSLR's because of all of the extra features don't worry, there is still "auto" mode and as you feel more confident you can explore the manual features to improve your photos even more. Lastly with a dSLR you can change lenses so if the kit lens that it comes with isn't enough you can buy a telephoto zoom that suits your needs.

Example of a "bridge" camera, for the most part I say skip these and look into dSLR's which will start at close to the same price.

Pictures aren't sharp:
Most often this complaint is less the camera's fault and more operator error when it comes to image quality. Even though digital cameras are common place now its surprising how many people don't realize you should always press the shutter halfway first, let the camera focus and determine exposure, then press fully. If this isn't done photos are often blurry because you're rushing the camera, often the autofocus doesn't have time to detect a face instead of the background (though this is improviing). Sometimes poor images are due to low light situations like we covered above. Point and shoots are mainly meant to yield nice 4x6 shots, that’s not to say if shot properly they couldn't provide bigger enlargements, but in the end they are made for capturing friends and family more than they are for fine art prints you'd blow up and frame in your livingroom. A station wagon is a station wagon and a sports car is a sports car, they are two different classes and are meant to do two different things, don't set your expectations too high. With the digital era people started viewing their photos on computers, immediately they began viewing them at 100% size and used this to judge image quality, while this is a valid method in some instances really what you should be doing is viewing it at the desired print size. For example a 12MP camera will snap a picture at roughly 4272 x 2848 pixels, this equates to a 14" x 9.5" print at 300dpi (just divide the pixels by 300), most point and shoot cameras when printed or viewed at 100% or maximum size won't yield the nicest quality. If you take the same image and view it at 1200 x 1800 pixels or 4x6 size they image will probably look much better. The truth is that most of the cameras out there are perfectly fine when it comes to image quality when judged by the print sized they'll most likely be used for. The problem is that manufacturers kept making them with higher and higher MP ratings when the sensor itself shouldn't really have that many and didn't need it if you look at what they're going to be used for. In truth anything above a 7MP camera for a point and shoot is really a waste, 7MP will let you make 8x10's at photo quality and can be pushed up to 11x14 in many instances, most people never even make enlargements at these sizes anyway.

Laggy shutter times:
Buy a dSLR. Period. Sad but true even with the most expensive P&S and bridge cameras you're always going to run into shutter lag. Even dSLR's when used in automatic mode will have some amount of lag as it autofocuses and adjusts the exposure however the time it takes to do it will most likely a lot less. Some cameras are worse than others and they way that you use your camera will affect this as well. As mentioned earlier pressing the shutter half way to "prep" the focus and exposure will significantly reduce any lag. Use of a flash can have a huge impact on this as well since it takes time for the flash to charge.

So what should I do?
It depends on a few things. After reading this do you still think you need a new camera? If the answer is yes then you'll need to see if what you want out of a camera is possible given your budget.

Buy another point and shoot?
The only time I'd recommend this is if you have a camera that wasn't made by a reputable name (ie Canon, Nikon, etc), if you're looking for new features like HD video, or if your camera was just really old (2MP for example). There are a few brands out there that have really crappy point and shoot cameras and you wouldn't expect it from the name, Polaroid for example makes terrible digital cameras, Olympus also has left a lot to be desired upon entering the digital arena. As far as MP's go I always tell people not to get to carried away with it but realistically if you're still shooting a 2-4MP camera an upgrade may be desireable. Another acceptable reason would be if your current point and shoot has very limited zoom or no optical zoom at all, in this case you may want to look at a better point and shoot or upgrade to a bridge or dSLR.

Should I look into these bridge/prosumer cameras?
Maybe. This is a really tricky area because they are really not that much cheaper than an entry level dSLR and only slightly smaller. If you think you may be considering a dSLR in the future you should definitely skip this range and hold out for a dSLR. If you're strictly looking for a bit more zoom and some added controls then perhaps a prosumer or bridge camera is precisely what you're looking for, my only advice is give it some serious thought before taking the plunge.

Should I just go all in and get a dSLR?
If you're wanting better photos, don't mind a bit larger camera, and can afford it then unequivocally YES. There are just so many advantages to a dSLR and due to their increasing popularity you can buy amazing cameras for very low prices. Ten years ago consumer level dSLR's didn't even exist, in late 2003 Canon came out with the first one for a resonable price ($1500) and it was 6.3MP. Today you can get an 18MP dSLR capable of full 1080P HD video for under $1000 and a resectible 10MP for $549 with a lens. Plus you can still keep your old P&S for snapshots ;)

Some example cameras from each class
Prices accurate as of Aug 30 2010

Point & Shoot
Canon Powershot SD1400IS ($249)
Pros: Very small and portable, Surprisingly crisp HD video (720p)
Cons: Only 4x optical zoom, can't use optical zoom when recording video

Canon Powershot SD780IS (Low prices if you can still find it in stock, its last years model but virtually identical to the SD1400IS)

Pros: Very small and portable, Surprisingly crisp HD video (720p)
Cons: Only 4x optical zoom, can't use optical zoom when recording video

Canon SX120IS ($229)
Pros: 10x optical zoom (very high for a P&S)
Cons: No HD Video (still has SD video though), Large for a point and shoot

Sony Cybershot DSC-H55 ($269)
Pros: 10x optical zoom (very high for a P&S), HD Video (720p)
Cons: Uses expensive proprietary Sony Memory sticks for the storage medium

Nikon Coolpix S8000 ($279)
Pros: One of the smallest cameras sporting 10x optical zoom, HD Video (720p)
Cons: No optical zoom while recording video

Bridge / Prosumer cameras
Canon Powershot G11 ($549)
Pros: All the controls of a dSLR, solid build, almost the industry standard camera for journalists
Cons: No HD video, only 5x optical zoom

Canon Powershot SX20IS ($449)
Pros: 20x optical zoom, HD Video (720p)
Cons: Lack of RAW support, slow lens at telephoto range (ie aperture is smaller letting in less light)

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 ($549.99)
Pros: 24x optical zoom, Full 1080p HD video, Leica lens
Cons: Electronic viewfinder could stand to be higher resolution

Fuji Finepix HS10 ($499)
Pros: 30x optical zoom, Full 1080p HD video
Cons: Slow processing of RAW format images

Digital SLR cameras
*Unlike the rest of the cameras I've listed above I'll include the MP rating for the ones below since the larger sensors actually make it a legitimate spec. Keep in mind that even 7MP will yield a crisp 8x10 print so unless you're planning on making posters you should still avoid getting too caught up in this rating. One caveat is that higher MP will allow you to crop a photo more and still retain detail.

Canon Rebel XS 10MP ($549 with an 18-55mm kit lens)
Pros: Solid entry level camera for a low price
Cons: No video capabilities, 10MP (which is still not bad)

Canon Rebel T2i 18MP ($979 with an 18-55mm kit lens)
Pros: High value for money, Full 1080P HD video, High MP for the price
Cons: Price may be above an entry level budget

Nikon D3000 10MP ($499 with an 18-55mm kit lens)
Pros: Solid entry level camera for a low price
Cons: No video capabilities, 10MP (which is still not bad)

Nikon D90 12.3MP ($999 with an 18-55mm kit lens)
Pros: Wildly popular, first dSLR to allow HD video shooting
Cons: Video is only 720p, price may be above an entry level budget

Sony Alpha A230 10.2MP ($399 with an 18-55mm kit lens)
Pros: One of the most inexpensive dSLR's, allows shooting to SD card as well as memory stick
Cons: No video recording, hotshoe is non-standard and may require adaptors for use with non-sony/minolta flashes

Pentax k-x 12.4MP ($629)
Pros: Compatible with almost all Pentax lenses, burst rate of 4.7 frames per second
Cons: Video is only 720p, no HDMI port

But wait!
Before you go running out the door to drop your hard earned cash on a new camera I recommend doing the following. Leave your cash/cards at home and go window shopping first, if at all possible try the camera out in the store and see how it feels. Write down a list of cameras you're interested in, when you get home scour the internet for reviews on them and see if there is any hidden flaws you didn't notice. Dropping a few hundred bucks or a grand is a big deal and you should be sure of what you want before you drop that kind of cash. I'd also recommend holding off on buying all sorts of accessories for the first week or so while you try out the camera at home, this way you can still return it without getting stuck with a bunch of accessories.

Good luck ;)

Ok I bought a dSLR now what?

OK

I bought a digital SLR camera. . .

now what?

A few people have approached me lately with essentially the same question, some were asking about what kind of lenses they should buy others about what kind of software they should use. Thinking that these were probably fairly common questions I decided to write up a little guide outlining a few things you should consider. They are arranged roughly in the order you should consider them too ;)

What attachments/accessories/lenses should I buy?

This all depends on what you plan to do and your budget but here are a few suggestions:

UV Filter

Chances are good that if you bought your camera at any respectable shop they would have tried to sell you one of these right away. No it's not a con by the sales associates (mostly) the idea is that it if something is going to get scratched it'll be a $30 filter instead of a costly lens. If you're just starting out in photography you probably won't need a top of the line brand filter so don't let the sales person get carried away trying to upsell you there.

*Tip: One interesting quirk to watch out for is what you see in the image above. It happens if you're using filters when taking long exposures at night of northern lights. I won't get into the physics of it but it has to do with a certain wavelength of light and the two parallel faces of your lens and the filter.

Lenspen

I think that all photographers should have one of these in their bag. At around $10 you'd be crazy not to have one anyway. One one end is a retractable brush that is good for knocking loose dust and debris and on the other side protected by a cap is a slightly concave felt pad for getting more stubborn materials off your glass. Over time (and depending on usage) they should probably be replaced so you have a new felt tip, that being said I've had mine for years and see no need to change it yet.

• Tip: They also make lenspens for point and shoot cameras, they have a smaller triangular felt pad for cleaning the smaller lenses.

Carrying bag/Camera Backpack

You just dropped a lot of money on your new camera so you should spend a little cash in order to protect it. There is a plethora of options in this department, unfortunately once you're getting into dSLR size bags the price goes up because there is less demand for them.

Above are some choices from LowePro, a company that's been around for decades and is well respected among photographers. There are a variety of choices ranging from simple hip pouches to sling bags and full backpacks which even accommodate laptops.

*Tip: One word of advice is buy a slightly bigger one than you need so that if you pick up a few lenses later on you can still carry them.

Tripod/Monopod

Investing in a decent tripod would probably be next on the list for most people.

Why do I need a tripod? There are a number of reasons but mostly it allows you the luxury of shooting at slower shutter speeds without producing blurry pictures. If you read my guide on understanding lighting you'll already know that you always want to keep your ISO as low as possible (sensitivity to light) in order to get the sharpest photos, however if your available light is already quite low the only options are to increase your aperture and/or lower your shutter speed.

If you're wanting to do any of the following photography you'll need a tripod:
Landscapes, wildlife, macro, sports, lowlight/night photography (lightning, northern lights) and anytime you're using a telephoto zoom lens

The rule of thumb is that 1/60^th of a second is the slowest shutter speed you can safely shoot handheld (though this is changing as image stabilization technology improves) but with a tripod you can have exposures lasting as long as minutes or even hours. As I mentioned above any time you're using a zoom lens you should be using a tripod, the reason is when you're zoomed in that far any small movement gets multiplied by your magnification X.

Good brands for tripods are Manfrotto, Slik, Gitzo, Velbon to name a few. Avoid tripod's designed for video cameras, they tend to be sloppier. When you're looking for a tripod you want one that is sturdy and won't allow your camera to move when all the adjustments are tightened up.

Tip: A monopod may be what you're after as well, they are good for sports photography because they don't take up much space . Keep in mind though that you can always use your tripod as a monopod simply by not splaying the legs out. I'd recommend starting with a good tripod and if you think you need a monopod later then go for it.

Extra lenses:

In short the best two lenses you can add to your kit are a zoom that compliments your kit lens and a nice fixed prime lens.

Zoom lenses:

Most dSLR's come with a general purpose standard lens, typically around 18-55mm. For most situations this is the best lens to use however sometimes you need a little extra zoom and that is where the telephoto lenses come into play. A good companion to say an 18-55mm kit lens would be something like a 70-200mm or a 70-300mm, this way you're not missing much range between the upper end of your 18-55mm and the lower end of your telephoto. If you find a good deal on a lens that will leave you with a gap don't rule it out though, it just means you'll have to keep this in mind when shooting and you may have to move back a little to get the same composition in your shot.

Depending on your camera manufacturer you might be able to find older lens used for a fraction of the cost of a new lens. For example Canon's EF lenses will work on their dSLRs but due to the fact most dSLR's have a smaller sensor the magnification factor will be larger and I'll explain this below in a bit. When in doubt call your local camera shop (Don's or Phase II for example) before purchasing a used lens to make sure it will work with your camera and if possible try it out on your camera first to make sure it fits and the auto-focus is compatible.

A note on cropped sensors:

If you have a dSLR camera and paid less than $3000 for it chances are good that your camera's sensor is what's referred to as a “cropped sensor” or “crop sensor”. This goes back to the days of 35mm film cameras, the film was the part that “sensed” the light and was 35mm diagonally across. The sensors in consumer grade dSLR's are smaller than that of the 35mm frame hence the term “cropped sensor”. What this means is that if you find an older used lens that was made for a film camera the zoom rating will not be accurate anymore. For example if you put a Canon 100-300mm EF lens on a Canon Digital Rebel dSLR which uses a 1.6x crop sensor your effective zoom will actually be 160mm-480mm.

1.3x – Canon EOS 1D/1D MkII
1.5x – Nikon D40/D50/D70/D70s/D80/D200/D2XD2Hs Minolta 7D/Fuji S3 Pro Pentax *istDS/K100D/K110D/K10D
1.6x – Canon EOS 300D/400D/20D/30D

Here's a nice little reference table of standard zoom sizes and their effective zoom's on a crop sensor.

Full Frame 1.3 Crop 1.5 Crop 1.6 Crop

Don't let any of this dissuade you from saving some cash by picking up an older telephoto though as there is another advantage besides the extra zoom. All lenses suffer from some inaccuracies due to how the lenses are ground and what materials they are made from etc, this results in the center of the lens being sharper than the outer edges of it. When you put one of these older lenses on a crop sensor camera you dramatically improve the quality of the image because the sensor only uses the central portion of the lens thus discarding most of the area that is degraded.

As mentioned previously if you plan on shooting with a zoom lens you should really consider using a tripod, at higher zoom ranges any vibration or shakiness is multiplied dramatically and will result in blurry images.

One last thing to note is that when buying any lenses you typically pay a lot more if you want a larger aperture (aka a faster lens). Where a 70-300mm F5.6 lens may cost $250 the same lens capable of f2.0 may run in the thousands.

Prime Lenses

Before the days of variable zoom lenses they were all fixed zoom aka prime lenses. Why would anyone even consider a lens so limiting? Below are 3 very good reasons:

1. Image quality
Variable zoom lenses are made up of many more elements than a fixed prime lens, this means any errors in how each of these elements are ground will add up and therefore decrease the total optical quality of the lens. Due to this fixed lenses tend to be sharper across the entire image, not just the center. Other optical issues like barrel distortion, pincushion distortion, and chromatic aberration are reduced in prime lenses.

2. Speed
This term may be new to you but when someone refers to a lens as being “fast” they mean it takes in a lot of light allowing you to use a faster shutter speed. Due to how they are made they often are available with very wide apertures (1.2, 1.4, 1.8 etc) compared to the variable lenses. Why is this important? Photographers always run into the same problem: not having enough light. Say you're shooting indoors and want to avoid the use of a flash (at a wedding for example) and your camera tells you in order to get a proper exposure you need to shoot at 1/4^h of a second at ISO 100 at f5.6. 1/4^th of a second is going to result in a blurry shot even if you're using a tripod because the people will probably be moving a little. If you have an F1.4 prime lens available that would give you 4 more stops of light to play with letting you shoot at 1/60^th of a second instead which is shoot-able handheld. In short it gives you options.

3. Shallow depth of field thanks to wider apertures

By using a very wide aperture (F1.4 or 1.8 etc) a very dreamy effect can be accomplished as backgrounds softly blur away allowing the viewer's eyes to be drawn to what matters.

So which focal length should you buy?

If you're going to pick up a prime lens I suggest going for a 50mm. The reason is that this is a very popular focal length for portraiture and therefore manufacturers make higher volumes resulting in lower prices. For both Canon and Nikon a 50mm prime can be found for under $150 and most likely other manufactures have similar prices to stay competitive.

Keep in mind though you may have to apply that multiplication factor to the focal length that we covered earlier in this article so your 50mm may end up working more like an 80mm if you're shooting a Canon. Don't get hung up on that though as generally “portrait” lenses are regarded as anything between 50-100mm.

Software Options

Here are a few options when it comes to image editing/library management. I highly recommend trying all of the free ones first as well as any trial downloads you can find before spending any cash at all.

Photoshop (CS4 is $1000, Elements Ver 8 is $129.99)

Now for image editing software Adobe Photoshop is the gold standard in the industry (CS4 is the current version), it’s the program that everyone uses. It is also ridiculously expensive which leads to a lot of pirating, there are tons of torrents available if that is the path you choose (I'm not condoning it). Another, more affordable option, is Adobe Photoshop Elements which is a "lite" version that sells for $129.99 as I write this at London Drugs. Check Adobe's website for downloadable trial versions before dropping any cash.

• Pros: It is the industry standard bar none.

• Cons: Pricey, A bit of a steep learning curve, I've used it for 8 years and am still learning new things every day.

GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) FREE!

GIMP has been around for years now and has come a long way, it is by far one of the most full featured photography programs second only to Photoshop and maybe a few others. The best part is that since it started out in Linux the software is FREE. I recommend downloading simply because it is free and trying it out, chances are it will do everything you need it to do. Realistically the stuff that Photoshop has that GIMP lacks is more for advanced users anyway. There are parts of GIMP that aren't very user friendly or just outright backwards if you're used to Photoshop but the price kinda makes up for that ;)

• Pros: Its FREE, full featured, and has an abundance of free tutorials and books online

• Cons: Steep learning curve, not user friendly in some instances, awkward if you're used to Photoshop

Picasa a FREE program made by Google

I'm a huge fan of FREE and often recommend this program. It's no Photoshop when it comes to features but it is very user friendly and covers all the basics like cropping, resizing, exposure correction, and some nifty filters for spiffing up your photos. Picasa also acts as a photo manager for organizing your pics and has other handy features like "email" that will re-size your photo and automatically place them in a new email for you to send (supports outlook, gmail, and a few others). Personally I don't like the photomanager portion of it but that's just me.

• Pros: It's FREE, covers most if not all of the “basics”, allows for fun projects like collages and slideshows

• Cons: Due to its easy to use nature more serious photographers may not like the lack of complete control.

Adobe Lightroom ($369.95)

It takes its name from the film days where photographer's would view their negatives on a light table etc. Essentially it is a workflow tool for organizing your photos and is also a feature rich "digital darkroom". It gives you a plethora of controls for developing your photos and most "pros" use this to import & tweak their images before editing them in Photoshop. This isn't really a tool for beginners but if you're shooting in RAW already you might want to look into it.

• Pros: Its fast becoming the industry standard for workflow and photo management, offers finer development control and Photoshop, great for processing RAW files

• Cons: Price, Semi-steep learning curve, really meant for serious photographers

Guide to getting into off-camera lighting

**Originally written for the camera club at my work**

So you took the plunge and bought a digital SLR, you've been having fun shooting in available light but you want to start playing around with studio lighting, this is your poor man's guide to getting started. If you're not poor you may want to look into starter studio lighting kits (starting around $600-$700) however this guide only covers speedlights which are cheaper and more portable & versatile than a full studio setup.

Requirements:
Camera with a hotshoe or PC Sync socket
Internet Connection (optional but you'll want to be doing lots of reading)
Budget:$100-400 depending on how far you want to go

1) Flash - $50 and up depending. You'll need a flash to start off with, we'll be using them like studio strobes so we don't need the fancy "auto ttl" style that cost big $$ (I made the mistake of buying the fancy ones and I never use any of those features). Look on ebay or kijiji for older flashes, it doesn't matter which brand because we'll be triggering them wirelessly. I snagged two Nikon SB-26's off kijiji for $100 each which was a good price, I wish I would have just bought these instead of my fancy ones and saved hundreds of dollars. Make sure that have the following features:

• Manual power settings - most are adjustable from 1/1 (full power) down to 1/64th or 1/128th in 1/2 or 1/3 F-stop increments

• Adjustable head that tilts and pan

• PC Sync Socket – Not completely necessary but a very handy feature to have

• A standard hotshoe - Some older Vivitar flashes as well as others have an oddball hotshoe that require an adapter to fit in a normal hotshoe, its best to simply avoid these ones.

• TTL trigger voltage -ie 5 or 6V, anything below 12V or so should be safe. Some older flashes can be up to 600V and can fry equipment so never use older flashes directly on your camera. You can check this with a volt meter by charging the flash to fire (set it to the lowest power incase you get zapped) then use the DC setting on the meter to check between the side pin and the center pin. Its kinda hard to describe in text, hopefully this picture makes it clearer. If you're buying on ebay make sure to ask about the trigger voltage if it is not listed, don't risk buying it if you can't be sure. If you're buying it off of kijiji then bring some batteries and a meter along to test it out yourself

Some suggestions on decent older flashes to look for would be Nikon SB-26's or 28's (Nikon flashes are great because they have built in optical slave triggers*), Canon 540EZ, Vivitar 285 (be careful as older model 285's have high trigger voltages). If you want to buy new flashes but don't want to break the bank checkout www.bhphotovideo.com and look at 3rd party brands like Bower or Nissin, $150 will get you a Nissin that is comparable to a $600 Canon EXII and still has all the ETTL-II auto features. *More about Optical Slaves in the next section Triggering Options

2) Triggering Options – Prices vary

Alright so now you have a flash but still no way to trigger it remotely, there are a few options that can be done cheaply:

• Wireless triggers – Starting at $20-30

  This is the method I'd recommend hands down. The “gold standard” in photography for triggers are Pocket Wizards but they cost around $300 for each transceiver and you need at least 2 to start. Lucky for us our friends in China have made affordable versions for $20-$30 a pair (includes transmitter and receiver). The triggers I recommend are the PT-04 model, some manufacturer makes these and various companies put their logo on them (YongNuo, Jiansi etc). At the time of writing this article you can pick up three (as show in the image below) for $34.99USD with free shipping on ebay. People sometimes jokingly refer to these triggers as “Poverty Wizards”, some say that they're not as reliable as their pricey alternative but I've never had any issues. I have 4 sets and I use them on professional jobs without any worries, I normally only use 2 at a time and the other 2 are backups. With a bit of modification you can even extend the range by adding an antenna to the transmitter although even un-modded you'll get 50-100ft.

Pros:

Cheap, no wires, flashes aren't likely to get accidentally triggered by other photographers, does not need line-of-sight.

Cons:

The cheap “poverty wizards” may have quality issues (though I haven't experience it), batteries will eventually need replacing (but last over a year at least)– AAA's in the receiver are easy to find but the transmitter takes 23A 12V which are harder to find – Here's a link to a 5-pack for $3.48USD http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.475

• Optical Slaves
  I mentioned optical slaves earlier, some flashes come with built in optical slaves but you can also buy little adapters. This is a very cheap method of firing flashes off-camera however they have some big problems with digital cameras!! These triggers were great back in the days before digital however the new flash systems do not work well with them. The reason the flashes on new cameras fire a pre-flash before the main burst of light, this pre-flash lets the camera's sensor determine the proper power required for a good exposure. If you're trying to trigger the slave with your camera's built in flash the pre-flash will trip the slave and by the time the main burst comes the slaved flash will have already fired.
  
  There are ways around this however. Buy a specially designed optical slave which accounts for this (Wein Digital Peanut) for around $100, OR the cheaper route is to trigger it with another flash that is in manual mode and therefore will not emit this pre-flash. Often I'll use only one wireless trigger on my Canon 580EXII and use it to trigger my Nikon SB26's which I've set to slave mode.
  

Pros:

Wireless, No batteries (for the basic ones, not sure about the advanced ones), very simple

Cons:

Doesn't play nice with digital flashes using ETTL (pre-flash), needs line-of-sight, will be triggered by any other flashes present (ie other photographers in the area)

• PC Sync cables (oldschool)

  $5 or less for very short cheap ones to $50+ for longer brand name ones

  Last on the list is the wired solution. Its not a bad idea to have a few of these cables around as a last resort but I wouldn't suggest using them as your primary means of firing your flash. The cables aren't that cheap (even though they should be) and the connector they use is very poorly designed, I don't know why its even still around when a simple headphone jack would work better and is abundant. These cables have a lifespan and become intermittent over time, the connector doesn't lock in place so they often slip out. All in all the worst of the options.

* I'd still recommend buying a few short PC sync cables especially if you get the PT-04 wireless triggers that have the socket, as crappy as they are they can still save your a$$ is a pinch ;)

Pros:

Simple and straightforward

Cons:

Not really that cheap especially for longer cables, connections deteriorate over time and become intermittent, connection is not secure and can fall out while shooting.

3) Light Stands & Adapters

Now that you have a flash or flashes and can trigger them remotely you'll need to put them on something. Investing in at least one proper light stand is recommended but cheap tripods can fill in as well depending on your needs. If you're wanting to special softboxes etc a light stand is the way to go but if you just want to mount the flash or even add an umbrella or two a tripod will suffice. Places like XS cargo or the various liquidation centers often have tripods for around $20. With that said you can find cheap ones at www.bhphotovideo.com starting at $20 USD + S&H as well. Cheap swivels can be found for ~$10 each online, “normal” ones are about $30 each. Post adapters like the 1/4” receiver can actually be pretty pricey so just try to buy a swivel that comes with one ;)

Shown here is an umbrella mounted on a tripod using an umbrella swivel. Note that if you are using a PT-04 wireless trigger it will add more height to the flash and it won't hit the center of the umbrella, this is where a small PC Sync cable between the receiver and flash comes in very handy.

4)Basic Light Modifiers (Umbrellas, Softboxes, Grids, Snoots, “Stoffen”etc)

If you're getting into off camera flash chances are the look you're going for isn't going to be produced with just a bare flash. Flashes emit light from a small source which means harsh shadows. The sun is a small point of light high up in the sky and you see how harsh mid-day shadows can be however on overcast days the whole sky becomes the light source because the clouds are “diffusing” the light. The most common light modifiers are trying to do the same thing, turn a small light source into a larger one.

Umbrellas – Starting around $10 and going way up from there depending on brand/size/type

These are one of the most common and most basic light modifiers, they are simple and they work well.

They come in a few different flavours: Reflective, Shoot-thru, and Reversible

• Reflective umbrellas are normally white on the inside and black on the other side, you shoot the flash into them and use the reflected light.

• Shoot-thru is just how it sounds, you shoot the light through the umbrella.

• Reversible umbrellas are basically a hybrid, they have a covering that can be removed so they can work as reflective or shoot-thru

Softboxes – Starting around $100 and going way up from there depending on brand/size/type

These are similar to umbrellas but give a slightly more even light, in addition they are more directional so you have finer control to avoid spill. If you're shooting with speedlights (ie flashes that are designed to mount onto your camera's hot shoe) your best bet for a softbox would be the 28” Apollo from B&H for $114USD. If you plan on getting one there are two items that B&H sells, for reasons unknown to me one item is cheaper AND it comes with an umbrella swivel for mounting your flash. Look for B&H item #WEASLK

Grids, Snoots, and Gridded Snoots ;)

These modifiers are used for restricting light, they're used various circumstances like back/edge lighting where you want to light up just the back of a person's hair without having the flash produce glare in your lens from spill. Other uses are for lighting backdrops behind a subject to create a spherical gradient. Basically any time you want to light a specific area without having light spill into other regions you'll be reaching for one of these. If you're the crafty type these can be easily made from commonly available items (hint use this as an excuse to go to your local pub to find black straws).

Stoffen aka Omnibounce

Stoffen is actually a company but just like “Kleenex” its become synonymous with this light modifier. For a simple piece of plastic the actual Stoffen Omnibounce is ridiculously over priced, you can find knockoffs that will do just as well or you can find ways to make your own by searching online. If you do buy a knockoff make sure you get the proper one for your flash as they are shaped differently depending on the brand and model.

These are used to simulate a “bare bulb” flash, they produce close to a 360°x360° light source. It is best used in smaller rooms where it bounces around off walls and ceilings to illuminate the whole room. Often you'll see paparazzi and journalists using them in completely the wrong way ;) They'll use them outside where there is nothing to bounce the light off of, in this instance they are just wasting 2-3 stops of light and overworking their flashes.

5)Resources for learning to light better

Having all of this gear means nothing if you don't know what to do with it, in this section I'll outline some great on-line resources for learning how to light.

• www.strobist.com

  A blog created by former newspaper photographer David Hobby, a few years ago he quit his day job to try his hand at blogging and now has one of the most visited websites for photographers on the internet. To say this site is a goldmine of knowledge is an understatement, David has been kind enough to create FREE course material. TheI suggest starting with his Lighting 101 series and going from there. The lighting 101 material starts off essentially where this guide does, with the equipment you'll need. From there it goes on to cover lighting basics onward to more advanced techniques. Thousands of people have got their start in lighting by visiting this blog.

Strobist DVD Semimar: If you can afford it (or if you can find someone willing to lend you a copy) this 8 DVD set covers all of the Lighting 101 information. If you find the online written material hard to follow then this DVD will help a lot by showing you visually.

Strobist on Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/groups/strobist/) With nearly 70,000 members the strobist group on flickr is a very active cult community of fellow lighting enthusiasts. The group showcases other strobists work, mostly as they progess through the various assignments on the

strobist material, all shots posted are required to include information (settings) on how they took the shots so its a great place to learn and be inspired. There is also a discussion portion where topics range from troubleshooting equipment to “how would you edit this photo” to building your own DIY gear. Everyone is eager to help and seem nice enough (unlike a lot of other online forums) so if you get stuck along the way to learning how to light like a pro you should stop by here and get some help.

• Onelight DVD Seminar (www.onelightworkshop.com) by Zach Arias

  Inline with the strobist “movement” Zach has put together a 2 disc seminar that follows him through various types of location shoots while explaining lighting concepts. He got his start shooting bands in Atlanta and one day decided to quit his job at Kinkos to got at it full force, the gamble paid off in spades. This seminar doesn't “hold your hand” as much as the Strobist dvds but it has a higher energy to it and he does shoots that are more exciting. Definitely worth a watch if you can afford it or can borrow a copy from someone who has it.

  Zach also has an online blog that is worth checking out at www.zarias.com

• www.diyphotography.net

  This is a neat little website (or blog rather??) that collects tidbits of great info from around the net. Normally geared towards making your own gear on the cheap this site is worth checking out periodically to see whats new in the DIY world.