Have you wondered if a $39 lens could be any good? Such is the case with the Olympus 15mm f/8.0 body cap lens that we first saw back at Photokina. And now, DP Review has put it on the bench and filed the report, Olympus Body Cap Lens 15mm F8 review.

Body Lens Cap on an Olympus Pen mini. Be sure the lever lines up perfectly with the white dot when shooting. Improper position shown here. (Move just a bit more to the right!)

Their bottom line? "The Body Cap Lens 15mm F8 isn't the kind of lens that's ever going to do well in technical testing, or satisfy photographers who like to look at their images in fine detail or print them large... What the 15mm does offer, though, is the ability to turn a Micro Four Thirds body into a tiny package that's ready shoot at the flick of a lever, and capture images which are good enough for social sharing, or as a basis for further manipulation, such as with in-camera filters."

Personally, I like it as, well, a body cap. I keep it on my second camera, the Pen Mini, so it takes up very little space in my camera bag. If I need to grab a quick shot, the body cap lens gets the job done until I have a few moments to mount the "proper" lens I want to use. And at $39, I've paid more for a lens hood.

Join me on my Instagram site as I explore the world of mobile photography. And now Instagram features 15-second movies too.

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Don't have much time, but want to improve your Lightroom 5 chops? Just saw this terrific post on Imaging-Resource titled Lightroom 5: 10 tips in 10 minutes, with Adobe's Julieanne Kost. It will make you smarter...

PhotoHelpDesk.com is a down-to-earth resource for curious minded photographers. Submit your questions, and we'll post an answer.

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Want to discover all of the features and settings in Flickr that you haven't tapped yet? Then click over to lynda.com and watch Flickr Essential Training.

To whet your appetite, here's an overview movie that will give you a taste of what's being served.

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Today's featured question on PhotoHelpDesk.com: Is Latest iMac Worthy for Image Editing?. The short answer is, "yes." Check out the post for more details and to comment.

PhotoHelpDesk.com is a down-to-earth resource for curious minded photographers. Submit your questions, and we'll post an answer.

We had a feeling this camera would do well in reviews. PhotographyBlog.com just awarded the Olympus E-P5 micro four thirds camera five stars in their Olympus E-P5 Review.

Citing top marks for design, ease of use, and image quality, they conclude: "...we can recommend the new Olympus E-P5 just as highly as our favourite compact system camera of 2012 [Olympus OM-D]." High praise indeed. Can't wait to get my hands on one.

iPad for Digital Photographers

If you love mobile photography like I do, then you'll enjoy iPad for Digital Photographers-- now available in print, Kindle, and iBooks versions.

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This week on The Digital Story: New site inspired by your questions: PhotoHelpDesk.com, Ever consider being a Bureau Chief?, the brand new Flickr Essential Training is ready for prime time - All of this and more in today's photography podcast.

Story #1 - PhotoHelpDesk.com inspired by your questions. As you can imagine, I get a fair amount of email seeking my advice on a variety of photo-related questions. Recently, it dawned on me that instead of just helping one photographer at a time, this effort could help many.

If somehow I could share these conversations with our online community, then others who have similar questions could benefit too. This is the genesis of PhotoHelpDesk.com, a new site that will be part of our publishing family. My goal is to create an archive of relevant photographic knowledge that we can use and share with others. I discuss what I've built, how it works, and who it's for.

Story #2 - Bureau Chiefs for PhotoHelpDesk.com. Currently I have 7 basic categories for Photo Help Desk: DSLR Cameras, Mirrorless Cameras, Compact Cameras, Smart Phones, Aperture/iPhoto, Lightroom, and Buying Advice. I'm going to serve as Bureau Chief for Mirrorless, iPhoto, and Aperture.

I'm looking for two Bureau Chiefs to help me cover DSLRs, Compacts, Smart Phones, and Lightroom. I'd like each Bureau Chief to cover two topics.

If you're interested in joining the Photo Help Desk team, then send mail to photographyhelpdesk@gmail.com with Bureau Chief and your name in the subject line. Let me know what you're interested in covering, and why you'd be good at it. If you have writing samples to share, send those along too.

Story #3 - Flickr Essential Training 2013. Flickr has gone through many changes of late, including new mobile apps for iOS and Android, plus a revamped web presence. I've recorded an entirely new Flickr Essential Training for lynda.com to show you the ins and outs of my favorite photo sharing site. And now it's ready for prime time. Here's more about it.

Reminder! - If you're going to purchase gear through Amazon or B&H Photo, please stop by the TDS home page first. Look for the "Products" box about half way down the page in the second column. There you will see display tiles for Amazon, lynda.com, and B&H Photo, in that order. By entering those sites through those display tiles, you help support The Digital Story.

Listen to the Podcast

In addition to subscribing in iTunes, you can also download the podcast here (27 minutes). You can support this podcast by purchasing the TDS iPhone App for only $2.99 from the Apple App Store.

Monthly Photo Assignment

The July 2013 photo assignment is Duality.

More Ways to Participate

Want to share photos and talk with other members in our virtual camera club? Check out our Flickr Public Group. And from those images, I choose the TDS Member Photo of the Day.

iPad for Digital Photographers

If you love mobile photography like I do, then you'll enjoy iPad for Digital Photographers-- now available in print, Kindle, and iBooks versions.

Podcast Sponsors

Red River Paper -- Keep up with the world of inkjet printing, and win free paper, by liking Red River Paper on Facebook.

Make Your Photos Sizzle with Color! -- SizzlPix is like High Definition TV for your photography.Special Offer! Anyone buying Derrick's new book, iPad for Digital Photographers, even at Amazon's or Barnes And Noble's discount, and putting the password for the Book Owners lounge in the comments space of their SizzlPix! order, will get 10 percent off their entire order -- the equivalent of more than a full refund for the book!

Need a New Photo Bag? Check out the Lowepro Specialty Store on The Digital Story and use discount code LP20 to save 20% at check out.

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Making beautiful prints at home might be easier than you think. If you haven't fired up the inkjet printer for a while, take a look at my latest Macworld article, How to print photos from Aperture the easy way.

The good news is, printer drivers have become much smarter over the last few years. So if you know what boxes to check, then you can produce lovely 13" x 19" prints on the first try.

I bet your walls at home could use a little freshening up. What do you think?

Aperture Tips and Techniques

To learn more about Aperture, check out my Aperture 3.3 Essential Training (2012) on lynda.com. Also, take a look at our Aperture 3 Learning Center. Tons of free content about how to get the most out of Aperture.

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Good news for Micro Four Thirds stills shooters. The newly announced Panasonic LUMIX G 20mm f/1.7 II ASPH lens ($399, also available in a silver finish) features a metal mount, supports Panasonic's Contrast AF for precision auto focusing, and is lighter and more compact than the previous version.

But according to Steve's Digicams, "The only real catch is that, when recording video, if you leave Continuous AF on, you will hear some noise. Panasonic recommends leaving AF off for video."

Filmmakers take note...

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iPad for Digital Photographers

If you love mobile photography like I do, then you'll enjoy iPad for Digital Photographers-- now available in print, Kindle, and iBooks versions.

When you want to keep an eye on a big job is processing in Aperture, the Activity Monitor window is very helpful. I've been using it lately during an ambitious archiving project where I'm cleaning up old libraries and posting the content to my Everpix account.

To view the Activity Monitor, go to Window > Show Activity. Since Aperture can run tasks in the background, you could have more than one process to view. If you decide that you want to terminate an activity, highlight it, then click on the Cancel Task button.

Currently I have an old MacBook connected to a Drobo and churning away on exporting libraries and generating full size previews for my online archiving project. That white MacBook isn't very fast, but it is steady, and I can leave it running over the weekend. When I want to know the status of a job, I check the Activity Monitor to see how long before I can set up the next task. It helps me manage my work without babysitting the computer. You might find it helpful for your big jobs too.

Aperture Tips and Techniques

To learn more about Aperture, check out my Aperture 3.3 Essential Training (2012) on lynda.com. Also, take a look at our Aperture 3 Learning Center. Tons of free content about how to get the most out of Aperture.

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When I saw Venus setting in the west on Fourth of July evening, I knew I wanted to create a different kind of shot for the holiday. The hardest part was finding a good location. After that, I had to set up quickly before the light left the sky.

"Venus Setting in the West at Twilight with Fireworks" by Derrick Story

I mounted the Olympus OM-D E-M5 with the Panasonic VARIO 12-35mm/F2.8 zoom on a Joby GorillaPod Focus with Ballhead X and controlled the camera with a Triggertrap mobile connected to my iPhone.

With the ISO set to 200, I exposed the scene for 2 seconds at f/8. The zoom was set to 15mm. Fortunately, the fireworks show in the distance began at 9:35 pm, while there was still color in the sky. I captured about 6 frames, this one being my favorite, before I switched lenses and focused on the fireworks themselves.

I like the grand finale fireworks shots captured about 20 minutes later. But this shot for me, is something a little different than I normally photograph on Independence Day.

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