Correcting Barrel Distortion & Inexpensive Photo Vests

Posted on | October 23, 2005 | No Comments

I just discovered an awesome free program called PT Lens available on the net. It includes profiles for specific digital cameras to correct barrel and pin cushion distortion, chromic aberration and vignetting. I briefly tried the barrel distortion correction on a few ocean shots and the results were amazing. Images to be posted later. I was surprised by how much better those images looked when corrected. My Canon 20D with 17-85mm IS lens should be arriving anytime so I’m sure I’ll be busy with the PT Lens program very soon.

Now about photo vests: At the photo stores you’d most likely see photo vests for $40+. I got mine for $18. Here’s how. Head down to Chinatown in L.A. and look for the swap meet on Broadway. Among the vendors several of them sell pocketed vests that are virtually identical to the higher priced ones at the photo stores. Sure the label isn’t going to say a photo company but who’s looking anyway? The vendor will probably ask for $20 so try to bargain a few dollars off unless you are one of those wealthy, semi-retired from your actual profession-type of photographers with every single piece of equipment ever made so you don’t really care about saving a few bucks. (Ex. Someone who owns two 1DS Mark II bodies along with everything from 15mm fisheyes to 600mm 2.8f monsters with 2x teleconverters each attached to Gitzo carbon fiber mountaineers outfitted with Arca-Swiss ballheads).

There are many pockets and some of which are huge. I went to the L.A. County Arboretum last week and stuffed 4 sets of AA batteries in one front pocket, bottled water inside of the vest, two ND Grads in another front pocket, cokin filter holder in another and remote shutter in another. The equipment didn’t feel cumbersome with the vest on and it surely beats carrying a camera bag with all that stuff in it. I’ll post a photo when I get my new digital camera. My previous digital SLR’s shutter died last week…

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