This cutting edge electric motor is about two feet in diameter. We were out on a factory location and the client asked me to take a really great, impromptu product shot of a newly assembled motor. It's the kind of shot that wants to be sharp from front to back and, as you probably know, there are a number of ways to achieve this. If you have the time and control, as in a studio setting, you could certainly try in-camera focus stacking but I've always found that some problematic artifacts show up and take a long time to fix in post. I've never had luck doing discrete products against white with in-camera stacking. I'm also no a big fan of stacking in post with add-on software. I know it works well with some programs but when you are on location with and art director and client in tow, and stack of things to photograph during one visit, there is a certain satisfaction in getting as good a file as possible, in one shot, to share with them and get quick approvals on. Explaining how things might work in post sucks. It falls into the same category as trying to explain why V-Log files are flat and desaturated in video but why they might look great once they've been color graded...
If we agree that most files are fine, usable and industry standard at 24 megapixels we can use that as a final delivery target for product shots. When I need more depth of field my in the field solution is to go to the edges of what I think a lens will handle before pernicious diffraction takes hold (small apertures) and then back out away from the object until I can see that I've achieved focus at both the near and far points of the product. Shooting with a 47 megapixel camera I can give up about 50% of the frame data and still have enough detail and resolution for a full 24 megapixel final file. Done this way there is no heroic post-processing needed and I can zoom in and show clients on the spot just how the final image will look.
To my mind this is a better solution for fast moving work than most others. Were I shooting product in the studio where we have much more control, and we are trying to make the ne plus ultra of final, single shots I'm sure a multi-frame stacking process might add some pizzazz to the final product. But in the middle of a production, factory floor, using portable flashes and some white foam core as a background I think my all in one shot solution is more efficient.
For this example I was using the Leica SL2 and the Leica 24-90mm Vario-Elmarit zoom lens. I'm okay with using that zoom at medium focal lengths all the way out to f11.5. The files can be sharpened up well in post. I'll even stretch to f16 is needed. But the real secret is backing away from the product so it's smaller in the frame and that gives you more depth of field from front to back.
Just thinking about that this morning instead of:
My 16 year old Kitchenaid refrigerator dying in the kitchen.
The carpenter repairing some water damage on one of our french doors to the outside.
The supply chain issues that are keeping me from getting the perfect refrigerator right now; today.
And the return of heat and enhanced humidity after our brief brush with that rare thing called rain.
Heading out to look at new fridges once the carpenter finishes up. Then to negotiate, hard, for "enhanced" delivery.
I know all you tough, highly independent types will suggest I just hunt down the right fridge and strap it to the roof of my car, then get the wife to help me haul it in and set it up. That's not going to happen....
But damn. In the old days you'd pick one out and arrange for delivery the same afternoon. It would get installed and you'd have your coffee ice cream chilling out 24 hours later. Not in these times. Not by a long shot.
14 comments:
Most people in the NW between coast and Cascades deny it, and nobody elsewhere thinks it's possible - but we are over 50 days without rain at our location. A few trace amounts (including today) but 0.0 measured since July 6th. We do admit that we miss the rain though.. for about a week, then we wonder if it will ever stop. Glad your region got a breather without too many vehicles drifting away.
Good tactic to use high MP camera, have distance sufficient to get depth of field to cover the entirety of the object, and good higher ISO performance to allow shooting at f11 with fast enough shutter speed to negate camera jiggle. IBIS helps here, but not necessary if that shutter speed is high enough. Same holds true for portraiture in a way. Get camera back to give subject breathing room and to have fairly large frame within which the subject has freedom to move. Throw in really good eye detect focus and that high MP camera with a sharp lens: crop away to get as tight as you like for the final composition. I am guessing that silent shutter and remote release would allow a whole lot of images without distracting the subject much. Compare that to using an FTb and a 50mm lens. Sometimes digital is so nice.
The long wait for appliances and then the delivery once the appliances arrive has taught many of us the virtue of patience.
Sometimes.
...or not.
So, The refrigerator we wanted needs to be shipped from somewhere and we won't be able to have it delivered and installed until Labor Day. I suggested to B. that we clear everything out of the old fridge, book a small suite at the Four Seasons Hotel and order room service till such as time as the delivery and installation is complete and then return home.
B. of course, suggested an alternate plan which was to spend an extra $250 to buy a mini-fridge for milk, eggs, yogurt, cheese and a few other essentials and just deal with it. Saving approximately $7000 to $10000 in the process. This is why she is the CFO and I'm the Brand Visionary and not vice versa.
I was waiting for her to suggest that the money saved would go a long way toward another Leica lens but that suggestion was not forthcoming.....
Granted this was in the depths of the pandemic but I was the Architect for the re-design of the kitchen in our local firehouse. We selected "available" appliances. The stove took 6 months to arrive. Fortunately everything else was so delayed that the stove arrived right when we needed it.
In the Architecture field I specialize in small scale projects including kitchen and bath renovations and apartment re-design, projects used to take 6 months start to finish including design and drawing. They now take 1 1/2 -2 years and we try to insist that construction doesn't begin until all long lead items are on site.
The photography I do for the Hastings on Hudson Fire Department is much more rewarding.
A beautiful piece of equipment, beautifully photographed.
After going through the experience of replacing a couple of refrigerators in a rush, I am thinking the better approach is just to replace them after 15 years. Buy the one I want, maybe on sale, and have it installed at my convenience. Sell or donate the old one. The new fridge may provide an improvement in efficiency that offsets any increase in cost, plus I avoid loosing any food.
In Santa Fe, it's been raining almost every day since early July. That hasn't happened recently. The high desert is now green.
Same deal here for appliances. You *can* go down and buy one, and have it delivered in a few days, but it's almost guaranteed it's not the one you want, or even close to the one you want.
Just-in-time inventory works fine until the day it doesn't. That's an old dumb cliché but it doesn't stop it from being true.
We bought this house in 2002 and got an old dryer with it. The previous owner had bought that dryer second hand from his wife's aunt in 1990 when the house was built. It is estimated to be about 40 years old, still going strong. We've owned three washers and 2 dishwashers since moving here. And we had to have the furnace replaced once and we're on our 4th car since the move. I lost count how many cameras.
Kirk
Thanks for the technique reminder. It can be tough to remember things like this when the opportunity to practice is somewhat hit and miss.
Concerning your refrigerator, the design life has been 15 years for a long time and with each generation the manufacturers get better at getting reality to meet the design. Your best bet is to get the current refrigerator repaired and wait until the supply chain can catch up. Then keep or donate the current model.
PaulB
Paul, Both Kitchenaid and an independent repair person have told us that the master circuit board is no longer made and is unavailable as is the compressor for that model. Would have loved to have it repaired and tried twice but it's a no go. We've already ordered a replacement and bought a mini-fridge for the interim between ordering and installation. We'll donate the mini-fridge upon successful installation of the new fridge.
According to most third party sources refrigerators are now designed and made for a ten year life cycle... kinda sad given the big investment in materials. My take is that all the electronics, auto-defrost, variable temp control, ice makers/dispensers, etc. are the weak point. Older refrigerators had just a compressor, condenser coils and a thermostat. You could replace a thermostat for $40. Now, if the circuit board becomes unavailable a nice $3200 (2006 dollars!!!) becomes .... recycled materials.
Re appliances like refrigerators, consider Costco. They carry the good stuff and their Concierge Delivery service is really all that. They have yet to disappoint us and they tack on an extended warrantee at no additional cost.
As far as Just In Time goes, I much prefer Just In Case.
Kirk
Unfortunately, when mother boards go, they are gone. A 10 Year design life, that is also unfortunate for us.
From the experience of friends and family with modern refrigerators, door mounted ice-makers and water dispensers are the most likely to fail and the most difficult to get parts for. This holds doubly true for the Korean brands.
Hopefully your wait is not too long for the new model.
PaulB
We gave up on the Bosch we really wanted and settled for another brand which could be delivered on the 5th of September. This year!!! In the meantime ---- mini-fridge to the rescue. And take out.
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