Messages

1

Third Party Manufacturers / Re: Good TripodHead

« on: February 27, 2013, 11:40:01 AM »

I have the Manfrotto (310 I think) Junior Geared Head.

You're thinking of the Manfrotto 410 Geared Head. I have the larger brother (405) head and absolutely love them.

To the OP, you really need to mention your budget if you want to get any useful answers...

2

Canon General / Re: The need for backup equipment for paid jobs

« on: February 06, 2013, 06:55:36 PM »

To the OP, I would ALWAYS recommend having not just one, but a pair of hard sync cables as a backup for triggering your strobes. They're cheap, take up almost no room in your bag, and are a simple solution.

But regarding the general purpose of the thread, I'm huge on always having backup for everything.

3

Software & Accessories / Re: RAW Pics processing programs for 6D

« on: January 31, 2013, 11:47:59 AM »

I think that Capture One is a better program for a professional's workflow. Lightroom is better for an all around photographer, and can easily be used for professional workflow. Many argue that Capture One renders better skin tones, where as Lightroom seems to do everything well. I think all in all, Lightroom is probably the better all-around RAW converters. Furthermore, it works fantastically to catalog your images.

4

Canon General / Re: Why buy from a bricks and mortar store?

« on: January 16, 2013, 11:19:29 AM »

Why?  Because it gives you warm and fuzzy feelings?  For us in the states, I hardly never buy locally... It doesn't help that our local stores are usually 5-10% higher than adorama or BH, if not more... plus you got local sales tax, and it just makes the out-the-door price skyrocket...  I go to my local store to test out gear and narrow my choices, then I go back home, and order my gear from adorama, with free shipping, and no taxes.  =)  I'm sure our government will close the tax loophole soon enough, but until then, I will do as I need to...

What you're doing is literally the rudest thing ever. These stores need to maintain a storefront and keep an inventory of demo cameras (which incidentally cannot be sold for full price), all of which cost money. To use their resources, and then take your money elsewhere, is just being inconsiderate of the employees time and the store's overhead. I understand no one wants to pay more for this already expensive camera gear, but one should really try and be considerate and think how they would feel if the roles were reversed.

5

EOS Bodies / Re: 5D3 vs 1DsIII

« on: January 14, 2013, 06:15:57 PM »

I have a 1DS III at work that I'd kind of forgotten about. I was typically opting to use a 5DII, and then the III when it came out. However after shooting with the Mark III a bunch, I've been really liking the lower ISO image quality that comes out of the older 1DS. Not only that, I really do like the feel of a 1D style body, it's just nice! The only thing I miss while using the 1DS is the high ISO performance (that even the 5D2 beats), and the newer autofocus system. That being said, I only miss these attributes in very specific situations that I don't deal with that often.

6

Lenses / Re: How many times did you return (L) lenses to get a good copy?

« on: January 10, 2013, 11:49:47 PM »

Hey there, I'm a Productions Manager at Flashpoint Photographic Rentals based out of Vancouver, BC. Since we don't primarily rent camera equipment, we don't have the same numbers of Canon gear as an establishment like LensRentals. That being said, we do have 20 L series lenses in our rental pool. While we've never done an official testing on our gear (though I'm considering it with the slow winter months in the shop), We've never had a single complaint regarding sharpness on any of our lenses from any of our professional clients. I myself use many of these lenses extensively for my personal shoots, and have no complaints with any specific glass.

The only problem we've ever had (in the past 3 years that I've been on board) in the shop was a brand new (out of the box) EF 24-70mm f2.8L II, and that was a mechanical issue where the zoom was jamming up around 28mm (This lens was quickly replaced with no charge to ourselves).

Hope this helps your choices! We of course are dealing with a situation where AFMA is not an option because almost all of our clients are using their own cameras. Perhaps I can give you guys a followup if I get around to doing a full test as laid out by Roger Cicala.

7

Third Party Manufacturers / Re: Pocket Camera

« on: January 09, 2013, 11:40:09 AM »

I checked out the RX100, and while it would seem that the image quality is great out of this thing, I wasn't too fond of the handling (felt very likely to slip out of my hands), nor the slow lens (granted the ISO can probably handle pretty well).

I ended up going with the Lumix LX7. I absolutely LOVE the controls and handling, the lens is damn fast with a good range. It's maybe a bit of a stretch for pocket camera, as in I won't be putting it in my jeans pocket, but I got a great pouch from an army surplus store and it attached to a lot of locations on any of my bags. Plus if you're wearing a jacket, no problem. Image quality wise, it's not great at higher ISO's, but very good for casual snapshots.

8

Software & Accessories / Re: For those using Lightroom... what are your settings

« on: December 20, 2012, 12:32:04 PM »

I'm pretty much always shooting with a 5D III, 5D II, or 1DS III and working the RAWs in Lightroom. As you said, things will vary quite a bit, but I guess I often go through very similar motions.

-Adjust Exposure, Blacks, Shadows, Highlights, Whites as needed. This is one thing I really can't lock down into a consistent setting.
-Increase contrast either through the slider, or the curves
-Bias towards reducing saturation and vibrance, only by small amounts. Sometimes I go the other way though.
-Tiny bit of clarity increase, I really don't like to overdo this one though.
-In the color sliders, I always tend to desaturate the reds and oranges just a little, especially if there's people in the shot (which 90% of my photos do have). I really find that Canon's tend to overdue these skin tones. I play around with all of these just a little bit, taking care not to overdo it.
-little bit of sharpening and noise reduction, often dig a subtle vignette

That being said, I quite often start with a VSCO film preset as I quite like them, and play with them from there as a starting point.

9

Pricewatch Deals / Re: Off-Topic Fun: How are YOU spending your Black Friday (week)

« on: November 18, 2012, 11:44:52 PM »

Black Friday:

"Because only in America, people trample others for sales exactly one day after being thankful for what they already have."

10

Lighting / Re: Best on location lighting

« on: October 24, 2012, 01:36:20 PM »

Profoto's are great, but they only just introduced a version (B4) with Lithium battery, and you'll pay a S___ ton of money for it. My personal favorite at the moment are the Hensel 1200L Porty's. They're small, light as hell, have quite a bit of control over your A & B channels, and are super well made products. Price point is right, and the cases and pouches that come with their products are really good quality and handy too.

Right now though, I'm really excited about the new Broncolor Move battery pack that was announced at Photokina. I have lots of experience with their Scoro packs, and it'll be amazing to have the same features available in a battery pack.

If you really aren't finding you have enough power at 1200 W/S, then it may come down to a bi-tube and pair of packs. You did say money was no issue after all...

11

EOS Bodies / Re: 1Dx reference in the Fox show BONES

« on: September 27, 2012, 12:16:36 PM »

My favorite part is at 2:22 when Annie shoots a frame on a Hasselblad H Series, and the sound that's dubbed in is clearly an F3...

Annie Leibovitz shoots Marie Antoinette	Small | Large

12

EOS Bodies / Re: 1Dx reference in the Fox show BONES

« on: September 27, 2012, 11:44:28 AM »

I believe the Nikon F3 is the shutter most commonly used by Foley's because it's so distinct.

13

Lenses / Re: No compact 'standard' L zoom?

« on: September 27, 2012, 11:36:43 AM »

I actually used to own the 24-85 lens, and thought it was a great little guy! After I found I wasn't using it that much I ended up giving it to a friend who had picked up a used 40D and had no glass. Since then I bought a 28-105 variable lens and it's a fantastic walk around! Fits super nicely on my 5DII and for a general walk around lens I find the optical quality perfectly acceptable. Would I use it in the studio? Hell no, hand me the L primes in that situation, those are the times where I'm demanding the absolute best out of everything I'm using. But as a, "tourist," lens it works great.

14

EOS Bodies - For Stills / High ISO Comparison - 1DX, 5D3, 1D4, 5D2

« on: September 26, 2012, 11:19:13 AM »

Hey there,

Friend sent this article to me, and I figured it would be of interest to a bunch of people here. While a rather subjective and specific test, it's an interesting one:

http://www.uncagethesoul.com/night-photography/best-canon-night-camera/

Sean

15

Software & Accessories / Re: Recommendations needed for Compact Flash cards for 5D Mk III

« on: September 20, 2012, 11:02:27 AM »

I personally have always chosen Sandisk over Lexar, but that's probably more superstition than anything. If you do decide to choose Sandisk, I use the same cards you have in the 8GB version and have never had a problem with them for video or stills in my 40D, 1DS Mark III, 5D Mark II, or 5D Mark III. I suppose if you require really long bursts, then it makes sense to get the fastest cards on the market, but such a choice didn't make sense for me as I don't really shoot sports.