I’m at Photokina, Cologne Germany introducing some new products to our European Distributors. We’ve been here for six days, doing what you see below. The first two days are all retailers and distributors, and I am in many, many meetings. We get to catch up with dear friends that we don’t see all the time, and then I also get to do some demonstrations.
The question and answer portion of my presentations are always my favorite. It’s where I get to connect with enthusiasts and professionals and learn more about what they want to do with my products, and this helps me to make more YouTubes and instructional materials to support my products.
Throughout the history of color photography, photographers have relied on gray cards for the most accurate color matching. When you have a need for the most accurate color matching, and exposure accuracy, nothing beats the good old-fashioned 18% gray card – until now!
My new Gray Dome is not for use on lighting equipment. To think more outside-of-the-box, I created a great solution for portability, reliability and accuracy. This dome is it.
The reason a dome is better than a flat gray card is because on the flat card, you cannot tip the card. If you lean the card forwards a 1/2 inch, you may find that the card gets brighter! And if you lean it forward, it gets no overhead light.
Think about this. An 18% gray card absolutelyoffers great measurement of light and color – except! when you need it the most (as in someone holding it for you.
I am very impressed with Sigma lenses. They are my preferred lenses. I am here at Photokina, Cologne, doing demonstrations on my Nikon D7000 and Sony A77, and they both have Sigma lenses.
Why Sigma? How did I wind up being a Sigma user, when I can afford any lens on the market, and when I have a bunch of Canon L lenses and Nikon lenses anyway? Because they’re INCREDIBLE. Forgetting about price – the build quality is amazing. Just go to a camera store and ask to feel a 50mm f1.4. It feels like a 50 f1.2 Canon. And when I switched to Sony, I had two choices (that I knew of) – a) Sony and b) Zeiss T* just like my old Hasselblad gear. I mean, I knew about Sigma, Tokina and Tamron lenses, and I thought they were all 2nd rate cheap stuff.
I found out about Sigma from my buddy Gary Black, who was one of the pro photographers that shoot Sony. He was giving demos at the Sony booth, and he had this huge 85mm f1.4 and it was beautiful. He told me that it was a Sigma, and that it was the best.
So, I bought a 50mm f1.4 and when I opened it, I said wow. And when I put it on, and saw the ripping fast focus and the great sharpness, I was convinced. That was many Sigmas ago. I have the awesome 35mm f1.4, the 85mm f1.4, I love my 24mm f1.4 Macro (macro!) and the 50-150f2.8 lens (which becomes equivalent to the 70-200mm f2.8 figuring in the crop sensor). I would pick these regardless of price. Then on top of that, they are substantially less than name-brand lenses.
Better lenses, cheaper prices. Watch this video to see how Sigma lenses are made at the factory in Japan…
Thank you to all who participated in the Instagram contest. The winner of the $50 Gift Card is Heber Perez from Dark Angel Photography. Congratulations!! Please email heather@garyfong.us to claim your prize.
We want to see your BEST image using any Gary Fong product. One lucky winner will receive a $50 gift card towards anything at the Gary Fong estore.
HERE IS HOW TO ENTER:
1. Follow @garyfongflashes on Instagram is you haven’t already.
2. Upload your favorite image using ANY Gary Fong product to IG with the hashtag #garyfong and what product was used.
3. Comment on this post and let us know you entered.
*For an additional entry upload the image to our Facebook Page HERE
We can’t wait to see your images. Contest ends Thursday, September 13th at 11PM CST.
We are having another fun little giveaway over on our Instagram page. Go follow @garyfongflashes and you could be the lucky winner of the Origami Flash Diffuser.
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