Tony Mellinger 2/21/18 Tony Mellinger 2/21/18

THE LENS EVERY CREATOR SHOULD HAVE

You can have the cheapest Canon DSLR camera you can buy and if you a great lens, you can still get AMAZING photos.

Recently I was helping someone purchase a new camera for a beginner and I suggested the new Canon EOX Rebel SL2. This camera is packed with great features like the same 24mp sensor my camera has, legendary Dual Pixel Auto Focus, and a small footprint...

You can have the cheapest Canon DSLR camera you can buy and if you a great lens, you can still get AMAZING photos.

Even with an entry level camera you can take amazing photos. The big difference is what lens you are working with. If you buy a camera with the typical 18-55mm, you can expect to get good quality photos, but you have to work hard to achieve outstanding creative photos.

Instead of buying a kit with a lens, I suggested buying just the camera body and buying 1 lens.

Introducing... the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM.

What? A prime (a lens that doesn't zoom) lens?? One focal length? how limiting... Although I do agree with the fact that a prime lens limits you, there are several reasons I would suggest this 50mm lens (also known as the nifty fifty) over buying a kit.

NOTE: the ONLY reason I would buy a kit with an 18-55mm is if it was the same price or cheaper than just a body.

Here's a few reasons why I would suggest this over ANY kit lens

Price

You can pick this lens up for around $125 new or less than $100 refurbished (I always suggest refurbished). That's such a deal for any lens, let alone a quality lens like this one!

Another advantage of this lens' price is you won't be afraid to use it. This lens is mostly plastic, but that keeps the weight down. One of my lenses is over 3 lbs, and if you are carrying that around all day, you will feel the weight of your camera setup. With this 50mm, its light, small and easily replaceable if something were to happen to it.

Focal length

Although this is a prime, I don't think that's a bad thing. When I first started using my kit lens when I was zooming in and zooming out, having no idea what I was really doing. I was playing with my shutter speed and my aperture... When you start with a prime, it takes one of the equations out of the puzzle. You can only shoot at 50mm. This helps the beginner get used to their digital camera with one less setting to get confused.

If you've had your camera for awhile, maybe with either the 18-55 or 18-135 kit lens and your ready to step up your photography, this lens should be your first prime lens. 50mm is a great size, especially on a full frame. On a crop sensor it's a little tight, but what I love about 50 is it makes you think through your composition. How can you get everything you want in your frame without zooming in or zooming out? Zoom with your feet! Because you only have one focal length, you will start thinking through your shot more because you can't easily jump from 18-55... or 135 so easily.

50mm is a great focal length as far as depth perception as well. If you aren't aware, focal lengths effect your photos two different ways. Obviously they zoom in, the bigger the focal length, the more it zooms in. The second thing it does is change the depth perception. If you have a small focal length (18mm), a 15 foot pier will look much, much longer than 15 feet. 50mm is a great balance and has close to the same view as our eyes (typically in between 35-50mm).

Aperture

Seriously? f1.8 for a hundred bucks?? Incredible! Aperture has two different effects on photographs. First, as you lower aperture it lets more light into the camera. This is a big help for low light situations. This helps keep your ISO down, helping you have the best quality photo you can have. The second thing aperture does is adjusts your depth of field. At a high aperture or F stop (like f18), your focus plane is essentially the entire photograph. As you lower the aperture, your focus plane narrows, helping create depth of field (blurry background). F1.8 is extremely low! It's so low you have to be careful your subject is entirely in focus. If your subject leans forward slightly, they will be out of focus. BUT, thats how you create incredible blurry backgrounds. This can take your photos from amateur looking to breath taking!

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM

Your gear doesn't make you a creative, but choosing the right gear for the right situation will make it much easier to help create the best content you can. I highly suggest every photographer have this lightweight, inexpensive lens in their kit!

Here's two More entry level lenS!

EF-S 55-250mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM

EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM

Tony Mellinger 4/23/17 Tony Mellinger 4/23/17

Apps for Worship

This week I went to the Apple Store and bought a gigantic 12.9" iPad for Evident Church. I may have a problem. When I walk in the Apple Store, the employees recognize me! Needless to say, I am a huge fan of using technology to its fullest when it comes to leading worship. When the iPad was first released, I was skeptical. I didn't see why I would need one if I had a computer and an iPhone. The advantage of having a tablet has been a game changer for me. The reason: developers have created apps for specific purposes of my life. Because of my iPad, I no longer have to carry additional books or chord charts along... and I have every single one with me!

Here's a few of the apps I use specifically for leading worship. Without these apps, life would be much more difficult!

OnSong - Chord Chart Management App

When I purchased this app several years ago it was only a few bucks. Now, it's closer to $20. Although it comes with a pretty hefty price tag, for me it's totally worth it. This app is essentially my chart book. It's able to handle chord pro style, or you can download pdfs right into it. I store all of my music charts and I'm able to create set lists each week. I play through the first song and swipe to the right and the next song is in order for me. If we need to change a key or add a capo, it's just a click away. No need to ever print out music again! I use a looptimus foot pedal connected with a USB cable to control my iPad through midi signals. This let's me control the iPad hands free. I can add sticky notes, rearrange charts and even sync the iPad with others on the stage. This app continues to improve and become more stable. I can't imagine trying to go back to sheet music.

Planning Center - Church Management Software

If you are living under a rock, planning center is a mega organization these days. More than just an app, this service allows you to schedule musicians and set lists, store content, check in your kids, send emails and much more. This app easily allows me to communicate with my team leaving notes for the service order and pretty much anything else I can think of. Most churches I work with these days use planning center. There is a subscription fee for the service but this app is free. This is the industry standard when it comes to church service organization.

YouVersion Bible App

You can't list apps to lead worship without mentioning a bible app. The YouVersion Bible app is a great tool with pretty much any version you like. You can take notes, highlight, find reading plans and more. Our church actually has a YouVersion event you can even follow along with the sermon notes. I love always having the Bible with me, no matter where I am. The best part, it's free! Everyone should have this app on their phone. Everyone.

Loop Community Prime MultiTracks App

For the past several years we have been using loops/tracks in worship with a click track (metronome). We've tried many different apps to run our loops and tracks, and have recently landed on using Loop Community's Prime App. The beauty of this app is the simplicity. We can store all of our loops in the app and when there's no loop, we can load just a click track. Ableton Live is our preference, but when it comes to simplicity, this app is hard to beat to run our loops. You can upload your own loops, or purchase loops from a community base online at loopcommunity.com. They usually have a free app of the month, so make sure to check that out!

GarageBand Music Creation app

Don't write this one off because it's a free app from Apple. This app is very powerful. Loaded with great sounds and loops, we've used this app live and for recording parts we need to add to our sound. We've even plugged the iPad into a midi controller and used this to run keyboard synths and pads. I've used this app with my looptimus pedal as well. This one is free, download it, play around and have fun with it. If you are going to use your app for live performance I suggest you get an interface that works with iOS devices and a USB cable adaptor. Someday I will discuss this in detail.

Novation LaunchPad Music Creation App

I use this one for a few things. This is an EDM style music creation app. There's a grid of squares and each grid is a different sample. you can play one square in each column making an unlimited amount of different sounds. I use this app to create backing tracks, music for worship videos, or just to hype up the atmosphere in the room. You can buy different packs and they have a few different ones. You can make your own pack by uploading new samples or combining samples from different packs. You can even play along with these samples if you can find some that aren't so hardcore. This is a fun app with lots of possibilities for music creation. You can also use this app to fire off loops you've created as well. They've had some great updates over the years making this a powerful app.

Polytune Guitar Tuner App

In a pinch, this app has saved me. I have a polytune tuner on my electric guitar pedal board and a Polytune clip in my acoustic case. As far as tuners, they don't get much better. On occasion, like in Guitar Center, and I am fighting a stubborn guitar, or just need to get the root E tuned in cause it's so messed up from some 12 year old playing it, I always have a guitar tuner with me. This is basically all this app does, but it does it well.

ProRemote ProPresenter Controller

If you use ProPresenter, you can leave your computer plugged in near the projector in a portable situation and control your presentation software from an app. I was leading worship up in Northern Michigan and this was the exact situation. The computer and projector were in the middle of the room and it was very annoying to have to wire the laptop across the room so we set the laptop on the projector crate and used this app to control the lyrics and fire off slides. Very useful. I would highly recommend this to anyone using ProPresenter in a portable situation.

Dropbox, & iBooks, Notes, Reminders Apple Apps

The beauty of an iPad is you always have your work and thoughts with you. Productivity apps are great tools to help you stay organized and keep you on track with what needs to get done. I use a mixture of Apple Notes, Reminders and email to stay on top of what needs to get done. Having a dropbox account lets me share and sync documents with others. All of my books are now digital, always with me. I lose the smell of the freshly printed pages, but having every book I read with me at all times, being able to search words or phrases in every book all at once, taking notes within the books... and then being able to search the notes, it amazes me enough to get over having to lug around a stack of books I need to read. Find a system that works for you an pump out work on your iPad. I have a mac and an iPhone and all of of devices are completely synced. It's a beautiful thing.

At the end of the day, are any of these apps necessary to live? Nope, but they make life easier for me, especially in worship. After using an iPad and these apps for years now, it would be hard to imagine doing ministry without them. It's not impossible, but I am blessed with the right tools to equip me to do my job the best I can.

What apps do you love??

Tony Mellinger 4/19/17 Tony Mellinger 4/19/17

Care: Acoustic Guitar

It seems a bunch of my friends currently are in the market for a new acoustic guitar. If you have spent any time at all with me, you know my love for Taylor Guitars. I know they are not for everyone, but I personally feel Taylor puts money where they need to and although they are pretty expensive, it is a tool that will last you decades. Here's a few tips on how to get the best sound from your guitar and care for your acoustic, whether or not it's a beloved Taylor.

Tip #1 - Play your acoustic!

You may have noticed your guitar can sound different at times. Sometimes when you play it, you are amazed! Other times, the same guitar leaves you wishing for more. It's not your ears playing tricks on you, it's true, the guitar sounds different! One of the best things you can do for your acoustic guitar is play it! Wood is actually very responsive. When you don't play your guitar, it closes up and tightens. When you play it frequently, the sounds resonate and open up the wood, making the guitar sound brighter, deeper, and more full. I try and play my acoustic at LEAST 3 times per week. Lately, I've been making it a goal to play it every other day to keep it open. If it sits in it's case for a few months, it isn't ruined, but it will take awhile to open back up. Do your best to show some love to your acoustic.

Tip #2 - change your strings, when they need it

Strings can make or break the sound of your guitar. Whenever I feel like my guitar is sounding dull, or unresponsive, even though I have regularly been playing it, it usually is time for new strings. There isn't a certain time frame strings last. I've had some strings last over 6 months, even though I was putting in 40-50 hours/week on them. Other times, they don't last 2 weeks. You need to be the judge of when you need to change your strings. Usually if I break a string (unless it's the next gig after I change them), I will go ahead and swap the whole set out instead of just the one that broke.

Most manufactures will indicate on their website what the original strings were installed on your guitar. Most of the time, those are going to be the best strings for your guitar. They spend a lot of time and money finding what strings sound best so make sure to take their advice. BUT, changing the strings on the guitar will help you shape the sound of your guitar, making it your own. If you would like more bass, try a thicker gauge string. If you want it to sound brighter, maybe switch from a bronze to 80/20 mix. I am a big fan of Elixir strings, which fortunately is what my guitar originally came with. For me, the coated strings last longer, sound better, and feel better. Here's a video on the best way to change your strings.

Tip #3 - use a humidifier

I haven't always used a humidifier in my acoustic guitars. When I got my first acoustic, I didn't... and it has lots of cracks. It looks really cool, but I wouldn't wish a giant crack down the top of a guitar on anyone. A humidifier will help keep your guitar from cracking, but will also help your guitar sound better. When it has the proper moisture it is able to breathe the way it needs to. I use the Oasis Guitar Humidifier. $20 on amazon and I fill it with water when it shrinks. The best part of this humidifier is it will humidify the guitar even if it isn't stored in it's case. In my office, my guitar is hanging on the wall. It's still working even though it's out of the case. Also, it will never touch the wood. Some humidifiers have bags in which you put crystals. The bags end up leaning on the wood, which can cause rubbing, or uneven humidity. Just buy the Oasis once a year and be done with it.

Also, make sure to have a way to read your humidity in your case! I recently purchased the TaylorSense monitor which updates on my iPhone. Yep, there's an app for that...

Tip #4 - Plug it in

So you just got your new guitar and you want to test out it's electronics! Good! First of all, always keep a few extra batteries on hand. I've found duracell batteries work the best with my guitar. Don't assume every 9V battery will work... I tried to use a cheap one and it didn't fit!

Also, spend money on a decent direct box. A direct box converts the signal from unbalanced to balanced. You need one. Don't just get a cable that goes from 1/4" to XLR and plug into a mic line. You just spend $2000 on a legit guitar, don't skimp and bottleneck your beautiful guitar's sound with a cheap direct box or cable. I highly recommend the Radial Stage Bug SB-2. There is a difference between direct boxes. Some cause noise, or weird phasing issues. I've never had trouble with the stage bugs. This one in particular is labeled for bass & keyboards, but I prefer it over the stage bug labels for acoustics. If you want to spend even more money, you can upgrade to the industry leading Radial JDI.

If you want to get creative, you can use some guitar pedals to color your sound. I've used preamps, reverbs, compressors, and delays on my acoustics. Right now, I am currently running straight into the board. You can get as creative as you want with your sound. (Pro Tip: Chorus pedals on acoustic guitars were a hit in the 90s & early 2000's. Today, reverb is the iconic sound. Stay away from chorus on your acoustic unless you are going for a retro sound.)

Tip #5 - Find some friends

One of the best things you can do to improve the sound of your guitar is find people you can spend time with and learn from. You can practice by yourself all day long, but when you spend time with others, you become a better musician. If you don't have a network of musicians, you can't expect to grow. I've been on staff at Evident Church for the past 5 years and I view these people as my family. When I am making music with a group of people, there's a special connection, unexplainable. These people help me grow as a musician, a Christian and as a human. They will always have a special place in my heart.

Your music you create is more than just for you. Share it with the world! Music is powerful.

“Where words fail, music speaks.
- Hans Christian Andersen”

What are some ways you have found help take care of your acoustic? Feel free to comment below!

Tony Mellinger 4/3/17 Tony Mellinger 4/3/17

Gear: Photography

#TEAMCANON

I love GEAR! Gear doesn't make you great, but having the right tools makes getting the right shot much easier. For YEARS I've used my iPhone or point-and-shoot Canons on auto mode. It wasn't until the past few years I've invested time and money in learning how to manually shoot with a DSLR and I'm in love. Once you understand how to manually control your camera, you can get some great shots with relatively inexpensive gear! Here's a list of the major components of my camera setup currently.

camera body: CANon Eos 80D

There's a lot of debate right now in the camera world between DSLRs and Mirrorless. It seems as though many DSLR Canon shooters are switching to the Sony lineup, and honestly they are decent cameras loaded with capability. I recently just purchased my first personal DSLR and I took some time working through exactly what I wanted. For me, flexibility was more important than anything. I am both a photographer and videographer. In all honesty, the Sony A series cameras have more features for video (120fps, 4k, etc…) but the DSLR ecosystem Canon has created is unbeatable. I decided the Canon DSLRs still produce great video quality AND I can use the same camera for amazing photography.

Once I decided I wanted to stay with Canon's DSLR lineup, I had to work through if I wanted a full frame or a crop sensor camera. The major advantage with the full frame is low light capability. Bigger sensor equals better low light imaging. The major advantage with the crop sensor is price (which is a big deal for me) and size (which is not really a big deal for me). I ended up buying a crop sensor for the fact I would rather invest in better lenses and eventually upgrade to a full frame camera.

I ended up buying a Canon EOS 80D. This is one of the the top of the line crop sensors from Canon and one of the best DSLRs for video in my opinion. I can wait on 4K. My computer can't handle the editing anyways yet.

RUNNER UP: I was strongly debating between the crop sensor 80D and the full frame 6D. If I was upgrading just for photography, I would have bought the 6D, which is about the same price. The 80D has some really good features for video though, enough to make me choose a crop sensor.

The Canon EOS 80D is known for it's amazing dual-pixel auto-focus, which makes this camera stand out. This high-end auto-focus paired with the articulating touch screen sold me on this camera. I am able to make videos along with having a very impressive photography camera. After having this unit for awhile, I have no regrets on my decision. QUICK TIP: I purchased this camera on Canon's Refurbished website. If you watch for the right deal you can save hundreds! I have also purchased several lenses from their refurbished site and never had a problem.

Favorite Lens: Canon EF 50mm f1.8 STM lens

This is by far my favorite lens. It's great for video, it's great for portraits, is great for bokeh, and it's dirt cheap! I bought this lens for less than $100 on Canon's refurbished website. You can't go wrong with it.

I purchased the STM lens because I use it for both photography and video. There's other versions of the same lens, but from what I hear, STM is great for video and I've never had a problem with my STM lenses.

As much as I want to use other lenses, I seem to always come back to this one because of it's beautiful images and ease of use.

One of the best features of this lens is it has the same "look" as our eyes. Some lenses make things look farther away, or closer up (We'll talk about lens compression later). The 50mm has a similar look to what we see.

Regarding Prime Lenses: There's a lot of debate about prime lenses (fixed lenses you can't zoom). For me, most of the time, the best route is to buy zoom lenses. Prime lenses are typically more expensive for only being able to cover one focal length. The 50mm, aka as the nifty fifty, is a dirt cheap, QUALITY lens. Although it isn't a zoom, this lens is almost always on my camera. For the most part, the best use of your dollar is a zoom lens, but this one wins the "favorite lens" award from me.

Ultra wide angle lens: CANON EF-S 10-18mm STM

When it comes to ultra wide angles in the Canon universe, there's two EF-S lenses: the 10-18mm and the 10-22mm. After researching for weeks, I had the impression the 10-22mm wasn't worth the extra money. I am very happy with my ultra wide lens I chose. Although this is a very particular lens with a particular purpose, It usually ends up staying in my bag.

Ultra wide lenses expand the focal range of the picture along with capturing a very wide angle. With this lens, it's best use is in wide open spaces, such as a lake or cityscape. Getting too close to faces or objects can create a very distorted image.

Canon EOS Rebel T6i - ISO 100, 10mm, f4.5, 1/3200

Along with being able to capture a very wide angle, it essentially stretches the image out. Something 20 feet away looks like 100. This works well on certain things, but not on others. With the right angle, I can make a 25 foot dock look like it goes on forever, but, recently visiting Belle Isle in Detroit, trying to shoot the skyline looked a million miles away. Depending on the look you want, you can create a very unique shot. I've found the best use for ultra wide angle lenses are in Nature, or trying to capture a whole room. At 10mm, you will see distortion in the room. Although this is a fairly slow lens (f4.5-5.6), I find most of the time I use this lens in the daylight with decent light so the aperture still works. Typically you want big landscape images all in sharp focus so depth of field is not an issue either.

Telephoto Lens: Canon EF-s 55-250mm stm

I am always trying to find the balance of having great gear and spending money wisely. If I had the money, I would run out and buy a 70-200L, but that's a $2000 lens. The 55-250mm is surprising good for the price. It's a step up from the 75-300mm lens and you can pick one up for a relatively small amount of cash.

Although this is an inexpensive lens, I am still able to get really nice telephoto shots. The opposite of of a wide angle, a telephoto lens compresses images along with being able to shoot very far away.

Canon EOS 80D - ISO 400, 186mm, f5.6, 1/250

One of my favorite features of a telephoto lens is being able to get a nice depth of field in my images. Even though the aperture is pretty high on this lens (f4.5-5.6), because of the far focal length, I am still able to take clear shots from far away with a nice blurry background because of the distance between the subject and the background. I would suggest any telephoto lens you have NEEDS to have Image Stabilization. The farther away you are, the more magnified your tiny shakes and movements are. Although a smaller f stop would be nice, this lens is a great compromise for the famous L white lens. It's very compact, light, and inexpensive, all things I want in a lens. In the future, I will probably upgrade, but for now I will craft my skill with this telephoto and when I upgrade my gear, I will already have the ability to shoot great shots.

A few Extras

Besides my 3 main lenses (10-18mm, 50mm, 55-250mm) there's a few extra components I use almost every time I go out to shoot.

Manfrotto BeFree Travel Tripod - There's few things I really like about this tripod. This is a very light tripod with a small footprint when it's folded up. In the wind, it's so light, it actually can move so Manfrotto added a hook on the base to hang a backpack to help! This tripod has a built in quick-disconnect base. Another huge plus for me. This tripod is great for photography, but not so much for video. There is a version with a fluid video head you can buy.

Peak Design Clutch - This is a simple but very effective extra. All this strap does is hold the camera on my hand. I've tried straps that go around my neck, but for me, I love the extra support I feel on the back of my hand with this clutch. It never leaves my camera. If you haven't already, check out Peak Design. This is a solid company with great products. I also use the Capture Pro and Pro Pad for long shoots.

Canon EF-S 24mm f2.8 STM - This is a 4th lens I occasionally use. It's really useful because of it's small size. With a crop sensor camera, it's about a 38mm so it's technically a wide angle lens. This is a perfect lens for selfies, keeping the camera small or chasing around a 2 year old. I am able to quickly get the close up shot. For around $150 new, you can find a deal on a refurb or used for around $100. It's worth to have on hand for certain occasions.

These are basically the main tools I use every time I go out for a shoot. In all honesty, you can have a great setup for relatively cheap and still get some amazing photos. Gear is important, but you always need to know the equipment you have and use it to it's fullest. Someday I will probably upgrade to a full frame camera and all new L series lenses, but for now, I am able to capture great photography and video. I am very pleased with my setup and proud of the art I am able to accomplish.

What's your favorite piece of gear you have? Do you have any experience with the gear I have?