I have been updating this blog for almost 7 years now, with over 2000 posts and pages. And to keep the site fresh, I like to updated it every 1-2 years with a new, hopefully better, look. And you may have already noticed, if this is not your first visit, that yesterday evening the site changed again.

New look for 2017

This time I went with a more open look, with bigger photos, full screen sliders and more. The biggest change I did, was to return the full blog to the front page. While I liked the way it was showcasing all different content from around the site before, I noticed that a lot of things got last that way. As I like to include all the new stuff in daily post, it was missed by those that only visited the frontpage. So like this, with this latest update, it is right there in the center.

The return should also bring back the easy way to look over recent posts. Lets call the last years theme an experiment. While there were things I liked, and I will keep, there were also ones I did not like. You know how it is. You may like something on the first look, but over time you start seeing faults.

So I hope you will like this new look, and you will enjoy visiting my blog more than you did before :)

And as always, please note that there may be some errors here and there. I did tweak the theme I use quite a bit, and while I tested it for over a week on my local server, it’s never exactly as on the live one. So some problems may arise. I try to correct all I find right away, but as I mentioned, there are over 2000 posts here, and I just can’t go over everything.

Today I bought a new camera. It’s a Canon 5D mark IV. You may wonder why after the Sony a7R I switched back to Canon, and in this post, I will try to explain my reasons.

My camera history

My first camera I bought, was the Canon 450D with a Sigma 18-200 3.5-5.6 (I still have it, and it works fine after one repair :)). It was in 2009, right after it was releases. It was a big decision between that and a Nikon (D60 probably, not sure) and the Canon won because it was a new release for the same price.

After that, in the beginning of 2012, I got a 5D mark II. The reason for that was simple. The shutter on the 450D broke, and I was going on a planed trip to Spain, and I had no camera. And since I wanted to do the photography more professionally, it was time for a better camera.

Switching to Sony

Two years ago, when I bought the Sony a7R, the reasons were multiple. Firstly, there was no good replacement for the Canon 5D mark II directly from Canon. The 5D mark III was available, but the differences to the mark II were minimal. And there is just no reason to get a 1D for landscape photography. I looked at the Nikon D810 (or D800, not sure which one was available then), which strangely, is still the best value to result ratio camera right now, but I did not want to get all new lenses. You may say I would be better off waiting, but I needed a second camera, as doing photography professionally without a backup camera body is just asking for problems.

So I had only one option, the Sony a7R. It offered compatibility with Canon lenses, gave me bigger resolution and more dynamic range. All I wanted. I even planed to switch over time to Sony lenses, but in the end I only bought one bigger lens during the time, and it was a Canon Tilt Shift.

Back to Canon

The Sony gave great results, even with Canon lenses. The sensor is just the best you can get. The resolution and dynamic range can make for some stunning photos. But over time, frustrations came. The a7R is just not build for professional use. If you take few photos here and there, its fine. The moment you need to perform it for hours at a time, to give consistent performance, it just falls short. It can be so frustratingly slow, it’s a pain to control, its hard to get around the UI and similar.

If you take photos rarely, these problems are not such an issue. You get a good results and thats it. But when you need to take photos almost daily, this is just not acceptable. I felt it every time I picked up the 5D mark II. So snappy, so fast. So easy to use. And don’t get me started on the button placement on the Sony.

When the Sony started to exhibit more problems few months ago, I started looking for a new camera. The Sony is now working fine again, after a warranty repair, but I already had my mind set to buy a new camera anyway. I had a look at the Sony a7R II, but from all I seen, it’s the same as a7R. Great sensor, in a mediocre camera. So I decided to go back to Canon.

What I chose now?

From Canon there were two cameras to choose from. The 5D mark IV and the bit older 5DsR. The price is similar, so the decision was based on features. I don’t care that much about auto-focus, ISO performance or how many shots it can take per second. It just not that big a part of what I shoot. For me, its mostly resolution, dynamic range, and how fast the camera is. In the end I decided for the 5D mark IV. Mostly it was due to the dynamic range. I got used to the better one on the Sony, and it’s easier to just do a panorama for a bigger resolution, than blend for bigger dynamic range.

So these are my reasons and thoughts on why I got every of my cameras and why I’m going back to Canon this time.

As every year, it’s time for my favorite photos from this year. I visited some new, some old places this time, so there have been some very nice photo opportunities. I did not continue with the daily updates this year, either due to a quite busy schedule during the year, or a need to just stop and do something different after a very long time of doing just this. But even with updates maybe not being so regular anymore, they will definitively not stop :)

So let’s hope for even better 2017, filled with great times, interesting locations and the perfect light. And here are some of my favorite photos taken this year. And since I got the tilt shift lens this year, a lot of them are taken with that :)

Also here you can see my favorites from past years: 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011 and 2010 :)

//Update morning 26.11: Added one new deal at the end

I did this post last and the year before, so not to break tradition, here is it again :)

As always, Black Friday is the best day to buy the software and resources one need as most offer big discounts. And to make the search for you easier, here is a list of the discounts I found, that you may like. Here goes :)

1. Master exposure blending video tutorial

As usually, I will start with my own discount. From today, until the end of the month, you can get 40% off (that’s 29 instead of 49 USD) from my video tutorial series Master exposure blending. Just use the code BF2016 at the checkout. You can buy it from the Master exposure blending page here.

2. Macphun software

From the 21st of November to the 1st of December you can also get great deals on the new Macphun software.
Luminar – for this latest addition from Macphun is available for 59 or 49 USD (new or existing user respectively), and as usually, Macphun will include some learning resources with it. You can find Luminar here.

Aurora HDR 2017 – You also can get the latest version of Aurora HDR for only 89 USD. You will also get few bonus resources with it. You can find Aurora HDR 2017 here.

3. Topaz labs plugins

Topaz again offers a huge discount on all their plugins. If you buy the complete collection, they offer a 50% discount. From the November 25th to the 30th, use the code BLACKFRIDAY16 in the cart. You can find the plugin collection on the Topaz website here.

4. ACDSee

ACD systems have a 30-70% sale on some of their ACD see products, and you can find them all, together with the prices here. The offer is valid until the 25th of November here

5. Oloneo Photoengine

Oloneo also has a great sale right now, with a huge 50% discount on the Oloneo Photoengine (still my favorite HDR software, and one of the easiest). You can grab it for 62 euro or 74 USD from Oloneo website here.

6. Formatt-Hitech

I mention mostly software here, but I also noticed that Formatt-Hitech has a 25% off sale with the BLACK25 code until the 28th of November. For more, check out the Formatt-Hittech webpage here.

7. Peak Design

One more gear offer. Peak design has a range of discount on their clips & straps (up to 20%), and they also offer some of the accessories cheaper if you buy it together with a clip or bag. The offers are valid from the 25th to the 27th and can be found on the Peak Design webpage.

8. Stuck In Customs tutorials

Trey Ratcliff from Stuck In Customs also has a black Friday deal for you. He offers a 25% discount on all books, presets and tutorials. The discounts are available from the 23rd to the 28th November and can be found in the StuckInCustoms store here.

9. On1 software

On1 also offers deals on some of their software. You can find the list of them on the On1 store web-page here.

10. Creative cloud

Adobe offers a nice 20% off for a yearly subscription to Creative cloud. Regretably only for the all programs bundle, not for the photography one. But if you are interested anyway, check it out on Adobe website.

11. InFocusDeals

From the 25th you can get a nice colections of video tutorials from teh InFocusDeals webpage, all focused on landscape photography, all from great photographers (Colby Brown, Jay & Varina Patel, Chip Phillips and more). You can check out the deal already now here.

12. Clip Studio Paint

Clip Studio Pain is a very cool professional drawing program, and until the 28th you can get it for a low price of 25 USD (almost 50% off). Check it out here.

13. Imagenomic plugins

I use the Noiseware plugin from Imagenomic very often, and from the 25th to the 28th you can get it and other Imagenomic plugins with a nice discount. Just use the code BF2016 at checkout. You can find all on Imagenomic website here.

14. Fstoppers tutorials

Fstoppers offers a nice discount on many of their tutorials, and especially including the one from Elia Locardy are worth it. You can find list of all the discounts and the codes here.

15. 500px subscriptions

500px has a nice flat discount of 25% of all their subscriptions right now. You can find them all here.

16. Jimmy McIntyre tutorials & Raya Pro

Jimmy McIntire is having a 25% off sale on all his video tutorials and his Photoshop panel the Raya Pro. It is definitively worth a look. You can find it all on Jimmy’s webpage here.

Kolor Autopano

Kolor has right now the so caller Kolorful days, where you can get 25% off from the regular price of their panoramatic software Autopano Giga and Autopano Pro, also for the Video version. Check it all out on Kolor webpage here.

I will add more deals, as they become available or I find more :)

The wallpapers section on the blog is quite popular, so how about a little update. Here are four new wallpapers, fit for 3:2 screens, exactly the same resolution as a Surface Pro 4 (but will fit nicely on any other 3:2 screen). You can get the new, and all the other wallpapers as usually from the Wallpapers page here.