Chocolate. It is my obsession.
I try to eat chocolate with everything. My desserts are always decadent and devilishly good combination of dark chocolate and other dessert things. But there is always chocolate.
I drink hot chocolate when it’s cold, and chocolate milkshakes when it’s warm. I’m even devising ingenious ways of using cacao beans to make sugar and dairy free comfort beverages. I make smoothies with raw cacao and eat cacao nibs in my muesli. I’ve taken to obsessing over new chocolate recipes on the web, and reading the rich history of this incredible fruit.
So here, in honour of Valentines Day are a few things I have learnt about chocolate and why you should find a way to incorporate it into your romantic celebrations.
Cacao is the raw product from which chocolate is made. The cacao beans are harvested from the Theobroma Cacao tree and undergo a process of fermentation, drying, cleaning and roasting to extract the cacao nibs, which are intensely bitter, but purest form of chocolate.
The earliest documented records of cacao being used date back to about 1100 BC and have a rich and well researched history throughout South and Central America. Cacao also forms part of the history in trading in Africa, Madagascar and Indonesia. Although the richest history of chocolate comes from South America over 75% of all chocolate grown comes form West Africa. Everywhere it is grown it has been recognised as being extremely highly valued and was often considered more precious than gold.
The feelings of comfort and joy you get from eating a store bought bar of your favourite chocolate have been recognised the world over, even in ancient civilisations. And for very good reason. However, before we continue about how good chocolate is for you, I have to clarify that I am talking about dark chocolate, as close to 100% cacao as you can get your hands on. The typical bar of milk or white chocolate you are likely to pick up at your grocery store is very high in sugar and calories – so any benefit you may gain from the small percentage of cacao in those mass produced confections are outweighed by the negative effects of the added ingredients.
Always remember that the healthiest chocolate related options are ones with the highest percentage cacao you can get. This higher cacao percentage does however have an additional benefit over the sugary competitors, the incredible flavour of the chocolate and the bodies need to consume FAR less of it to be satiated.
And now I will continue listing why you should include this devilishly good substance into your Valentines Day celebrations.
Many studies on the effects and chemicals contained in the Cacao bean show an overall positive reaction in the human body. There are over 300 chemicals present naturally in the cacao bean and the studies document their effects fairly clearly.
Cacao contains flavinoids which help your blood vessels retain their elasticity. This is coupled with the fact that it contains something called Stearic acid which is a neutral fat and won’t raise cholesterol levels and Oleic acid which is a mono unsaturated fat which raises good cholesterol. Cacao has also shown to help the health of your circulatory system while melting in your mouth, indicating an elevated level of excitement, similar to kissing, and the after effects lasts 4 times longer. Overall chocolate can be helpful for you heart and circulatory system. In fact, studies found that men who ate dark chocolate tended to live a year longer than men who did not.
Cacao also contains Phenyl Ethalymine which is known to elevate mood levels. The smell of chocolate can increase Theta brain waves, inducing a sense of relaxation and has been linked to an increase in the production of serotonin (the feel good chemicals) in the brain. Cacao is also antibacterial, and surprisingly can fight tooth decay. It was also used by traditional healers to treat insect bites, and has been known to help with respiratory problems.
In addition chocolate contains trace elements of iron, calcium and potassium, and vitamins A. B1, C, D, and E. Cacao is also naturally high in Magnesium, a deficiency of which is linked to a number of diseases such as hypertension, heart disease, diabetes and joint problems. Having enough magnesium also helps hugely to curb the symptoms of pre menstrual tension in women.
So with all these obvious benefits, why wouldn’t you want to include chocolate?
You could of course go the traditional route of making a rich, decadent dessert, smothered in whipped cream, served with fresh strawberries. Make sure to eat it with your hands, and make it as messy as possible.
Or – you could try pairing your chocolate experience with other aphrodisiacs. The ancient Aztecs coupled the hot chocolate drinks with a sprinkling of chilli, making a spicy, heart quickening, warming drink.
Alternatively, you can couple 100% Cacao with a savoury dish. You can search online for my favourite chocolate, chicken, savoury dish. It’s a Mexican Chicken Mole which stews protein rich chicken with Cacao to make a spicy, rich dish guaranteed to get both your hearts pumping.
The recipe, roughly, is as follows.
500grams chicken pieces, skin removed.
4 tbsp. Quality olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp each of cumin, nutmeg, ground cloves, salt and ¼ tsp cinnamon.
1 chopped red onion and 1 chopped pepper, you choose your colour.
3 slices of chopped pimento or red pepper
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. sugar
2 large tomatoes peeled, seeded and chopped
60 grams 100% Cacao
2 tsp. chilli powder (or to taste)
Cook the chicken in a heated casserole dish with the garlic until browned. Remove the chicken and set aside, while cooking the onions, peppers and peeled tomatoes for 10-15 minutes. I prefer my food spicy – so insist on the chilli powder, however if you prefer your food less spicy, add to taste. Add the chicken stock and almonds and simmer it covered for about half an hour. Then add your cacao to the mixture until it is all melted. Return the chicken and bake for about an hour. Serve with brown rice and refried beans.
Happy heart racing Valentines Day.
What factors should you consider when comparing lenses?
One of the most common questions asked once you have purchased your first DSLR is ‘what lenses should I look at buying?’. That, as you can imagine, is a pretty big question, so this article aims to give you a number of factors to take into consideration when buying lenses.
The number one lesson you learn when starting on the great adventure that is photography is that you should try spend more money on lenses than on camera bodies. For me that is an incredibly difficult thing to do, but it honestly pays off when it comes to perfecting different types of photography.
In my opinion the first factor you need to consider the TYPE of photography you plan on doing. If there is a specific type of image you would prefer to be able to take, and narrow it down from there. Below I will go through a few types of shots, and discuss the relevant and appropriate options available to you.
TYPES OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Did you buy your camera because you travel to really interesting places and want to keep a record of those memories? Or did you buy it because you adore taking pictures of your kids, friends, interesting people you meet? Is your main type of work to take pictures of small details in the interesting things around you?
If you’re a frequent traveller, ideally you want to keep you kit versatile and light. It is probably a good idea to consider a multi-purpose ‘walk-around’ lens. This lens would be something like an 18-135mm, or a 70-200mm lens. Something with a wide enough range to get a decent scenic shot, but with enough of a zoom to concentrate on details.
I personally would always consider having a fixed focal 50mm in my bag, which is incredibly lightweight, but effective for narrow depth of field images, or shooting in low light situations.
If your main photographic ideal is to take landscapes, a telephoto zoom code be the right choice as it can give very dramatic depth in your scene. Or your choice could run to a wide angle lens, but that creates a very specific type of image and is not hugely versatile.
For portrait photography there are two fairly important factors to consider, one is speed as people move constantly. If you are taking pictures of your kids or candid shots of friends or family, you would like something that operates fairly quickly. The second consideration is depth of field. There is nothing more beautiful than a pin sharp portrait, with a gorgeous blurred background.
And lastly, what if your preference is macro photography? For capturing those exquisite details in every day objects. Your priority there is a lens with a very small minimum focussing distance, so the lens can get in really close and still focus effectively.
Obviously lens manufacturers design and build lenses to each of these very specific fields, but if you had to buy one lens for each requirement your photography is bound to become too expensive to enjoy.
ENVIRONMENT
Another consideration that will prove to be important is the predominate environment you shoot in. Do you shoot mostly indoors, in low light situations, or are you more an outdoor shooter where the elements may play a role in your decision. If a lot of indoor shots make up your portfolio of work, your priority will be the speed of the lens. You’ll need something fast or that has a wide aperture. But the body need not be as sturdy or need to be moisture or freeze proof.
If however your work takes you into wet, or extreme cold the weather proofing of a lens becomes and important factor. You’ll need to choose a lens that is sturdier, and it will probably tend to be a more professional level lens. One that has been sealed against the elements. The fastest way to ruin a lens is to allow moisture to get between the elements, so keep in mind your shooting environment.
PRICE
Price is the next factor. It used to be that price determined whether you would go with Canon or Nikon lens specific to your camera body. If you couldn’t afford it you would then look at brands that were compatible, like Tamaron or Sigma. However these days Tamaron and Sigma create lenses that are on a par with the body makers in price and quality. Your consideration of price now extends to the level of lens you are able to purchase.
You are able to purchase entry level lenses with a wide number of uses – but the more multi-purpose a lens is, the more likely you are to sacrifice on sharpness and clarity in that category. If your priority is that absolute clarity and the multi-purpose is less important you could consider fixed focal length lenses. Canon has a fairly inexpensive 50mm 1.4 which is tack sharp, but you have to move closer or further away from your subject.
Obviously if your price is not an issue, then you should jump in from the get go and look at the top of the range lenses from all the makers. These lenses will offer speed, versatility, clarity and performance, but they come at a price. However, these lenses are also likely to last longer and be adjustable through the ranges as you upgrade your camera bodies.
OTHER OPTIONS
The last point I would like to make is that there are other options available to you. The two most common are the option to purchase lenses second hand. Research in your area for reliable second hand camera merchants. They will be able to advice you on stock availability, price and comparisons to newer models. When considering second hand lenses it is very important to take your camera body with you. Check the lens barrel for scratches or dents, attach the lens to your body to ensure all the motorised functions are operating properly and do some research about reviews on that lens to see what problems may exist with it.
The last option available to see if the lens you are considering matches your requirements and needs is to rent the lens for a time period. Find a reputable rental company and take the lens for a week to test out the functions, speed and most importantly whether it fulfills your needs. Once you have had the chance to work with a lens you’ll soon be able to determine whether the price tag attached is worth it for your work. But whilst using the rental lens keep in mind all of these considerations.
I hope this has helped and been informative.
Canon EF 70-200mm 1:2.8 L IS II USM review
For the past 10 years the Canon EF 70-200mm 1:2.8 L IS has been the work horse for professional and advanced amateur photographers. It was known to be fast and incredibly sharp. Over the past decade this lens has been hugely acclaimed the world over as one of Canon’s best lens solutions.
In March 2010 the Canon EF 70-200mm 1:2.8 L IS II USM was launched. The new Telephoto Zoom lens has been redesigned to offer improved performance and an overall ease of use. The time taken in the research and development of this lens shows in all aspects and makes this lens well worth considering whether you are taking your photography to the next level, or just looking to update your equipment.
COMPATABILITY
This lens is compatible with all Canon EOS film and digital camera bodies. Obviously there is no effect on a full frame camera on the effective focal length. And the lens produces remarkably clear, crisp images even at the largest apertures.
If however, you have an APS-C sensor the sharpness of the lens is very slightly compromised. This is due to the fact that in all smaller sensors the inherent magnification causes an increase in the effective focal length to 112-320mm. This in turn does lead to a slight softening of your images. However if you take into account the combination of lowered noise at higher ISO’s inherent in these bodies and the speed of this lens your low light shooting is going to be a pleasure. Gone are the fears of a slight hand shake destroying your perfect shot.
Canon, equally, has taken the time to work out the auto focusing bugs that a fair number of lenses experienced when using extenders. As a result a 2x converter can be easily used and the lens successfully converted on the camera body.
DIMENSIONS
The Mark II of this lens weighs in at 180 grams more than the original and is slightly larger. The aperture runs from 2.8 to 23 with a circular diaphragm consisting of 8 blades. The circular diaphragm allows for beautiful bokehs.
LENS CONSTRUCTION
The new design consists of an element array of 23 elements in 19 groups. The build has increased the ultra-low dispersion (UD) elements from 4 to 5 and includes a fluorite element which has been placed in the middle of the lens path. This fluorite element works to cut down on chromatic aberration dramatically and has beautiful results.
The press release from Canon boasts that this build design gives you the ‘high-resolution, high-contrast optical capability’, what this means for you after all the marketing speak is that at 100% views or crops the aberration is virtually non-existent. It is only at significant magnification that a slight aberration may be visible.
The images are exquisitely sharp – and if you, like me, think there is no comparison between using a zoom lens and a fixed focal lens on sharpness, you are in for a huge surprise. Most of the reviews and online opinion of this lens seem to concur that this lens delivers crisp, clear, razor sharp and perfectly coloured images.
The 70 – 200 uses a superbly fast and very quiet ultrasonic autofocus motor along with optical image stabilisation which makes the lens perfect for low light shooting keeping the image pin sharp. Canon asserts that these build factors give you the equivalent of 4 f-stops of compensation. The focusing at low light is beautifully fast and accurate.
The overall design of the lens from a functionality point of view has been simplified. The focusing ring has been made larger and feels more robust when working with it. Canon has taken the time to ensure the lens is suitable for most conditions and this version is resistant to dust and moisture, giving you more peace of mind in more challenging environments.
The minimum focusing distance has been dropped to 1.2m at all zoom settings. This means being able to get in close to your subject, even in restricted spaces.
In addition this lens works very well with to supply distance information for ETTL (Effective through the lens) metering for your flash set up.
The function buttons on the side to adjust between focusing modes are easy to access and to use. There are a number of focusing modes built in. There 2 modes of image stabilisation – the first mode is specifically for stationary objects and the second for moving objects. Additionally you can decide whether to set your minimum focus from 1.2m to infinity or 2.5m to infinity which is helpful when using this lens for wildlife shots.
There is a tripod mount available for this lens, and as with most larger lenses it is far better to use the lens mount than the camera mount. The image stabilisation in the build however means that this can also effectively be used with a monopod with very little of that pesky blur.
PRICING
The question of pricing is a contentious one. This lens weighs in at a hefty 2500 dollars (US) however, shopping around may get you a bargain of about 300 dollars (US) less. Most discussions though reveal that the build quality and image quality are worth paying this price. Because of the versatility of this lens it is suitable in most environments and for most types of shots.
PROS AND CONS
Because of the rapid increase in the pixel density that most digital camera manufacturers are producing, the importance of your lens quality is so much easier to scrutinise. Most photographers agree in the age old belief that when you are considering additions and upgrades to your kit, you should consider quality lenses before upgrading your body. This is becoming a more important truism than ever before.
I fully believe that the pros to purchasing this lens far outweigh the cons. However please keep in mind that if weight or lens size is a major factor in your decision making process this lens is fairly large, heavy and bulky. But if that is no problem and the clarity of your images is your priority, this lens is a brilliant, well built, excellently designed lens that will give you many years of photographic bliss.
Canon 1D MKIV
This is the fifth incarnation of the professional Canon range. With the launch of the Nikon D3s there was much speculation and excitement about this release from Canon. The MKIII was plagued with auto focusing problems and this release from Canon has been highly anticipated.
The Canon 1D MKIV body has been built out of a light weight magnesium alloy body. Canon has also put a significant amount of time ensuring that this body is weather and dust proof, including a whopping 76 separate environmental gaskets and seals into the design. Included in this design are the integrated cleaning system from the predecessor. The cleaning system uses ultrasonic vibrations to shake loose any small particles on the sensor. If there is a particularly bad issue with dust particles, the MKIV can map the locations to process removing any distortions automatically or manually using the digital professional software that comes in the box. The dust removal is triggered automatically when powering up the MKIV but if you need to stop it, hitting the shutter buttons works. This automatic sensor cleaning can be switched off if you decide to. All of these innovations do make the MK IV a tiny bit heavier than its predecessor.
As with the previous model the MKIV has been designed, despite its slightly cumbersome weight, to be ergonomic and is equally comfortable to operate in both landscape and portrait mode. This means that the controls and buttons are easily accessible which ever way you are shooting. In fact the biggest difference cosmetically between the MKIII and the MKIV is the fact that there is a small built in microphone grill to complement the high definition video shooting.
The MKIV boasts s 16.1-megapixel APS-H-sized CMOS sensor with gapless micro lenses. Canon has equipped this beast with dual DIGIC IV processors, which means that the MKIV can certainly keep up with it’s 10 frames per second shooting in burst mode – it is incredible to see in action. If you are a sports photographer, you have no choice but to upgrade to this model. However, if your main concentration is landscape or portraiture, perhaps considering the 5D is a better move.
The 3 inch LCD display is beautiful with all 920 000 pixels of clarity and makes reviewing your shots and working in Live View a treat. The images have a native 3:2 aspect ratio and you are looking at resolutions of 4,896 x 3,264 pixels in both JPEG and 14-bit CR2 Raw formats. The noise levels in RAW data from the MKIV are much improved form its predecessor at the same levels.
As with most of Canon’s releases, the MKIV also now includes high definition video capturing mode. The shooting modes for video are as follows:
1920×1080@30/25/24
1280×720@60/50
640×480@60/50
The MKIV has kept the video capturing very similar to the very popular EOS 7D, and provides for capturing movie clips of up to 4gb. I believe that the range of frame rate options are to ensure that the captured video can match broadcast television formats as well as online video and therefore removing the need to fiddle too much with the output frame rate. Many professional videographers have taken to using these DSLR’s as their second video camera’s because of the clarity and creativity available to them.
The Canon 1D MKIV movies include audio built in to the updated design, but the quality of sound reproduction is not great. Cleverly though they have included the ability to add an external microphone which negates this issue. There is also, thankfully, an HDMI-out port on the MKIV.
The video capture mode gives you options to control most of the functions manually or automatically. For example you can allow the MKIV to chose the appropriate ISO range automatically while shooting after you have set the aperture. The MKIV also allows for very limited video editing in camera, but it is fairly simplistic. And, as with the 5D MKII you are able to capture still in video mode by pressing the shutter button which allows the video capture to continue, but captures a still simultaneously.
The focusing remains as with all the other models in the Canon range, manual. And as with most DSLR’s with built in high definition video, if you pan too fast with the machine, you get an awful sway in the image.
Canon has also included dual card slots, which, considering the additional video functionality is a fairly clever innovation. The MKIV can now accommodate both SD and CF cards. However if that was the only reason I was purchasing the camera, the price would certainly make me think twice.
The ISO on the MKIV has been expended to a low of 50 and a high of an insane 102 400. Yes – you read that right. 102 400. However, having bragged about that the noise at that ISO makes the images look as though they have been taken with a mobile phone camera. So even though you have the functionality, it doesn’t mean you should be using it.
Auto focusing – whilst the MKIII was plagued with auto focusing issues Canon has certainly put in place great development and improvements on this aspect. The total number of focusing points stays the same as the MKIII but the cross type points have been boosted to at least 39 from 19. These cross points are high precision and are f2,8 compatible. In addition to this all 45 points are now user selectable.
One of my favourite Canon innovations over the past few years has been Live View. The MKIV offers live view shooting with some interesting improvements to make this function even more useful. The higher resolution LCD screen and changed focussing capabilities of the MKIV including three auto focusing options make significant sense to this model.
There is now Live Mode auto focus which allows contrast detection without interrupting Live View. The second is Face Detection Live Mode, which detects and focusses on human faces. The third mode is Quick Mode Auto Focus which allows the mirror to drop to allow for Auto Focus to be completed, but it does momentarily disrupt the live view streaming during Auto Focus. The overlayed grid lines are also present in the MKIV in Live View and there is a great depth of field preview as well.
Overall the MKIV is an incredible piece of machinery. However, I believe that the price tag attached to it makes it not entirely an obvious choice. The Nikon D3s, the closest competitor to this machine certainly beat Canon to the punch launching when it did, and I worry that the next generation will have significant upgrades which will make this Canon model fairly obsolete quite quickly. I personally hope that Canon take a leaf out of Nikons book and concentrates more on the sensitivity and functionality of the sensors, than trying to race to cram ever more pixels into the sensors. More pixels does not mean a better image in adverse conditions.
