Lenses

Is Silica Gel Toxic?

by Susheel Chandradhas
Equipment, Guides

Silica gel, composed of amorphous Silicon Dioxide (SiO₂), is a versatile desiccant known for its ability to absorb moisture, odors, and oils. Shaped into tiny beads or granules, it’s a non-toxic, non-poisonous material widely used to safeguard electronics, camera equipment, and various other items from corrosion, mildew, and damage. But really… is Silica Gel Toxic? The packets say DO NOT EAT, so maybe silica gel is poisonous? Let’s explore its composition, and effect on its environment.

Choosing Lenses for Still Life Photography

Choosing The Best Lenses for Still-life Photography

by Susheel Chandradhas
Lenses, Guides

If you’re interested in still-life photography, you’ll need to choose the right lenses for the job. There are a few factors to consider, such as the size of your subject, the level of detail you want to capture, and the amount of space you have to work with.

The most popular lenses for still-life photography are macro lenses and telephoto lenses, but once you master these, you may also want to explore the use of tilt-shift lenses in still-life photography. Macro lenses are great for close-up shots of small subjects, while telephoto lenses allow you to capture more detailed shots from a distance.

How to maintain rubber parts on a camera body

How To Prevent Rubber From Becoming Sticky & Remove Sticky Rubber

by Susheel Chandradhas
Equipment, Cameras, Lenses

Every camera starts to degrade after years of use. Among the many things that happen when cameras are stored away for a long time, is that the camera’s rubber parts start to degrade. Rubber degradation is inevitable. However, there are some concrete steps that you can take to preserve the rubber parts of your camera and other equipment around the house.

There isn’t a way to fully restore rubber that has already started to degrade, but there are ways to prevent the rubber from degrading too quickly in the first place. This is especially important if you are in hot and humid climates. Let’s get started on understanding how and why rubber degrades, and how we can slow down that process.

by Susheel Chandradhas
Blog, Lenses

This simple-yet-effective lens buying guide helps you make the right decision every time. This is a humorous take on buying a lens. Humorous, but true.… Read More »Lens Buying Flowchart

Tiny Tips 18: How to Get Great Bokeh from Your Lens

Everyone who knows what Bokeh is wants it… Those who have it, never want to let it go. Can you ever have enough of it? Probably… But if you don’t have enough bokeh, you first need to ask yourself… Are you doing everything you can with your equipment to get amazing bokeh? Let’s find out.

Filter Care & Use

Lens filters have many uses and have a permanent place in your camera bag. You may be using a filter to protect your expensive lenses from dust or finger smears or maybe you want to use it for an effect that you want. What can you do to ensure that your filters do not degrade the quality of images that your expensive lenses produce? Here are some pointers:

How to store camera equipment so that they are not affected by fungal growth on the lenses

Prevent Lens Fungus on Cameras – Perfect Camera Storage Humidity for Dry Cabinet

You know that moisture and dust can damage your cameras and lenses. Prolonged high humidity levels (65-70% or higher) can damage your lenses and certain parts of your camera body through oxidation (rusting) or fungal growth. High atmospheric humidity provides an ideal environment for fungal spores to grow and spread beneath camera lens coatings, permanently damaging them.

Here are some precautions you can take to keep your camera equipment in a humidity-controlled environment at all times. This will prevent the growth of lens fungus.

by Susheel Chandradhas
Equipment, Lenses, Light, Theory

There’s a technical aspect to using a polarizing filer, but there’s a visual aspect that you really have to experience if you are a photographer. Have you experienced a Polarizing filter yet? If you have not, I seriously recommend trying one today. Do not delay.

14 Street Photography Tips – For The Beginner

Not everyone is bold enough to go out on the street and take photographs of life as it happens around them. If you’re someone who has been wanting to do this – to document the world around you as “life happens” – then here is a compilation of the best tips that I’ve seen about Street Photography over the years.

At the end of the article, I’ve also included a few additional resources so that you can continue to learn more about street photography from some of the best sources out there.

The Best Lenses for Photojournalism

by Susheel Chandradhas
Equipment, Lenses

Photojournalism calls for a wide range of skills, and a selection of lenses to match. Selecting the right lens at the right time is at the core of this discussion simply because of the range of events that they may be called upon to cover – a conference one day, a riot the next, and a Nobel prize winner on yet another occasion.

However, photojournalists need certain common qualities in all their lenses, and these are a constant. Let’s discuss the features that the best lenses have, and list a few of the most popular and useful lenses for journalism.