Messages

1

Technical Support / Re: Best Methods For Long Term File Storage ??

« on: November 13, 2012, 01:08:03 PM »

I keep two copies on separate external hard drives.

As do I, and the two HDDs are stored in different physical locations (home and work).  Those copies are made as soon as the images are processed...

Same here with a small difference - I make a copy immediately after dumping the files on the primary computer. Processing is all in LR metadata anyway, and LR catalogues are also included in my backup script.

My backup script is a hand made batch file using the "Robocopy" command line utility.

My back up drives reside on a second computer which is identical with all the same applications installed as the primary. That way if my primary fails, I can continue working uninterrupted.

I don't use any optical media (DVD/Bluray) because they become unreadable after a few years. I also don't use external drives because for the price of a "network storage" I can build myself a fully functional second computer, so what's the point?

2

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Convince me to shoot in RAW

« on: November 09, 2012, 01:12:07 PM »

1) Data management.
I don't have the budget for a bunch of HDD's, especially while saving every penny for the MkIII. This is not my biggest concern, but it will be a greater task trying to back up 800 RAW files instead of JPEGs. I know there has got to be a way to delete all images in a folder not chosen for import when using lightroom. If someone could explain that to me or if anyone knows of a workaround, data management wouldn't concern me as much. I always import more than I truly end up with, and I don't want to add to my workflow time by deleting all the out of focus images outside of lightroom before starting the import process.

You can get a 3TB disk right now for $120. Honestly space cannot be an excuse anymore :-)
Don't filter images at the step where you import them. Import them all, then flag the keepers. Once you are done, select all the "rejects" and delete them from LR and disk at the same time.

2) Workflow time with only RAW files.
I know I'll figure out the speediest way for me once I actually start taking on the beast, but some advice on getting started would be greatly appreciated. I advertise a photo-journalistic style for weddings, so I often come home with over a thousand images expecting to choose about half of them to process. Part of this is needing to be more selective in shooting, but I still feel much safer taking three shots of the same pose using the 50D and shallow DoF as there is such a razor thin margin for getting critical areas in focus.

You have to go through all images 1 by 1 to select the keepers - there is no shortcut there. However if you shoot excessively everything, then once you select your keeper from any given spray burst of images, feel free to skip the rest. You only really need 1 good image out of any given burst.

Does lightroom handle RAW files in an efficient manner? With so many images per session, I'd prefer to keep all my work within lightroom. I'm just worried that processing RAW and then processing all the produced images will prove to be too time consuming. It may not be a problem if I did photography full time, but it is currently a weekend job on top of my normal full time job. Business is starting to pick up for me, and time management is starting to become a real issue.

Help please 

It's slightly more sluggish than going through JPEGs but you can mitigate that by creating a new LR catalogue every few months. Fresh catalogue = performance.

3

Lenses / Re: Smart purchase or not?

« on: November 09, 2012, 12:58:28 PM »

Hi JPAZ, I bought that same lens used as well, it was similar age,  and I have no regrets. I paid $600 (Canadian) - one of the best deals I've scored on a lens. The copy I got was in worse shape than what you are describing - it had a tiny scratch on one of the elements, and even some dust trapped inside, but none of that was ever an issue in terms of affecting my images.

I also don't use it a whole lot, but when I do it works great. A lot of people mention the sharpness issue on this lens, but that only applies if you try to shoot wide open (f/4). Because this is mostly a landscape lens, you are going to be at f/8 or f/11 anyway, and IQ will be superb. So the only thing to remember is to shoot at least f/5.6 and you'll get great results.

4

Lenses / Re: Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8L IS [CR1]

« on: October 30, 2012, 07:24:14 PM »

Dude, handheld is a style and TONS of movies, tv shows and docs use it.

Sure, and that style is most often achieved by using a shoulder rig and not by actually hand-holding...

5

Lenses / Re: 135mm or 50mm...

« on: October 30, 2012, 01:07:27 PM »

If i had to narrow down the top two things i do with my stuff it would be portraits/weddings and videography.

I'm going to argue against 135L. It is nice, but for what you want to do, 50mm is way more useful in my opinion. First of all, 135L will be too long for majority of wedding shooting. The longest I ever need to go is 85mm. I'm usually between 35mm and 50mm.

Secondly, 135L really needs IS badly. I don't want to have to shoot at 1/135sec when I'm indoors just to get a sharp picture.

Thirdly, if you are really stuck on the long telephoto idea, consider 100mm 2.8 Macro IS instead. It is noticeably sharper than 135L AND has IS, meanwhile price is about the same.

6

Lenses / Re: Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8L IS [CR1]

« on: October 30, 2012, 12:55:27 PM »

sigh, IS would be sooo great for video...

I never understood this need... IS is not a replacement for monopod/shoulder rig/steadicam/slider/tripod,  what kind of video production would require handholding anyway?

7

Pricewatch Deals / Re: The 5D Mark II & 5D Mark III Get Cheaper

« on: October 24, 2012, 01:12:19 PM »

Meh. With 2 Mk2's in the bag, I wouldn't get the Mk3 even at $2000.

I am waiting for Canon to tempt me with something radically better, but I'll be waiting for a long time it seems.

8

EOS Bodies / Re: 6D with 3 flavor + Improve AF (compare to 5dm2)

« on: October 16, 2012, 01:56:28 PM »

... I think the purpose of servo is seriously misunderstood.

i am insteresting in your understanding about ai servo.  as if you would like to share, i am your audiance...

note:  i am using both (with dof button re-config), depending on cases

Ok, so let me start by saying that in my world of candids (i.e. weddings) unless the eye closest to the camera is critically sharp, the picture goes to the virtual trash can. Even a slight focus error (say I focused on the eyeglass frames) is completely unacceptable. In fact, nothing short of tack sharp eye(s) can be passed on to the client.

Second thing that needs mentioning is that I shoot wide open with fast primes. So f/1.4 is where I live.

With that being said, servo could never do for me what I do manually with single shot:

- Servo is reactive, not proactive. It doesn't know where your subject is GOING TO BE, it can only tell where the subject moved after it already happened. Once subject moves out of focus, servo is catching up. This is especially a problem when the subject is moving straight towards or away from you.

- Servo can't predict people's reactions. I can tell by the body language whether a person is going to lean forward or backwards once they start laughing at the incredibly hilarious joke they just heard from a person they were chatting with.

- Servo doesn't understand that focus needs to be on the eye of the subject or the picture is useless. To ensure that I get the eye in focus, I use single focus point only. I dont want the camera making a mistake. Unfortunately you can't use servo with a single focus point only :-)

- With candids, timing is everything. So I want to take a picture exactly when the time is right, not when servo catches up to the subject. So it is much faster for me to wait it out and focus in the split second when the moment is right, than to let servo chase the subject around and be completely in the wrong place when I need to take the picture.

But I'm not saying that servo is useless, don't get me wrong. In other types of photography where subjects that are moving really fast and failure rate is really high (flying birds, fast action sports etc) servo can be of tremendous value. I can't imagine shooing a soccer game without it (unless I'm shooting the goalie only :-)). Continuous fast action requires a completely different approach to photography, especially if you don't know what that "right moment" will be.


 

9

EOS Bodies / Re: 6D with 3 flavor + Improve AF (compare to 5dm2)

« on: October 15, 2012, 01:29:12 PM »

 My only concern is 5dm2 AI Servo AF when taking candid photo of my daughter.

I'm not sure why you would use servo for candids. I shoot wedding candids all day long and I only ever use single shot. I have never once used the servo mode on my camera (other than screwing around when I first got the camera years ago) I think the purpose of servo is seriously misunderstood.

10

Canon General / Re: when/how to start a photography business?

« on: October 12, 2012, 10:56:25 PM »

And here's another one: learn the principles of pricing theory. And don't believe anyone who will tell you anything about cost+markup. That's about the dumbest thing in general and makes things even worse for 90% of "artist types" out there. Always think of the customers' value and make them pay dearly for it.

"How much should I charge?" becomes a much easier question to answer when you rephrase to "How much does it take for me to actually agree to do this?"

At first, the answer will be "I'll do it for free as long as I get some cool shots for my portfolio", but that answer will  change very quickly. As your skill goes up, you will value your time more.

11

Canon General / Re: when/how to start a photography business?

« on: October 12, 2012, 09:47:32 PM »

It goes something like this:

Craiglist Posts->Low end Jobs->skill improvement->website improvement->gear improvement->moderate advertising->more business->higher prices->networking with other vendors->brand recognition->off you go

And you better have a full time job while doing all of this.

12

Lenses / Re: If you could only have 2 lenses for a wedding...

« on: October 05, 2012, 01:40:23 PM »

As a professional wedding photographer for 10 years, nothing makes me groan more.

Your post is of course entirely true, but I don't understand why this makes you groan. You know, as well as any other pro, that even a guest with identical gear and even identical skill level will not have pictures on par with what you'll produce. This is of course true because you are working hard at being ready for that right shot, whereas,  the other person is merely snapping at whatever happens to come their way. It's impossible to work and be a guest at the same.

I've had guests with sometimes better equipment than me but I couldn't care less because:

1) I get the prime spots whereas  they get the leftovers. If I had to shoot from where they are standing, I wouldn't even bother taking any shots (I'm not even kidding - if I have a choice between crappy angle and no picture, I choose no picture. It saves me the effort of filtering it out later). AND

2) I'm the one getting paid, whereas, they get to compete with iPhone pictures on facebook

So what I'm saying is - bring on the Leicas and Medium formats for all I care :-)

13

Lenses / Re: If you could only have 2 lenses for a wedding...

« on: October 04, 2012, 10:59:20 PM »

I'll do one better - if I only had 1 lens for a wedding it would be 35mm 1.4. In fact even if you give me all the lenses I can carry, I'll still use 35mm 85% of the time :-)

14

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Renting 5DIII for a wedding, would like advice

« on: October 03, 2012, 10:35:25 PM »

1. The quarters will be somewhat tight, and I really want the flexibility of a zoom.

35mm on Mk3 is like 24mm on 7D - wide enough for most tight quarters, and for the remaining 1% of situations you have your Canon 17-55 2.8 IS.

2. I'm not sure that I'm quite experienced enough to use only primes / change lenses a lot during the whole thing.

Fair enough. You have to be comfortable.

15

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Renting 5DIII for a wedding, would like advice

« on: October 03, 2012, 07:57:56 PM »

I wouldn't bother with renting zooms, I would go with these:

Canon 35mm 1.4
Canon 50mm 1.2
Canon 85mm 1.8 or 1.2

But that's just my preference because of quality of primes, low light, and extreme shallow DOF look. I only have 1 zoom lens in my bag and I almost never use it. I've also never needed anything longer than 85mm.

Main tip - I would try to rent Mk3 before your gig to get used to the AF system. I've been using Mk2 for 5 years now, and whenever I grab a 7D, I'm shocked by the amount of pictures that are OOF. Mk3 is closer to 7D (AF wise) so you may be ok if you're used to it, but it doesn't hurt to play around with it when there is nothing at stake.

You are good with cards, just don't spray in burst mode - try to make every shot be a conscious decision. I use single shot 95% of the time. I never shoot more than 40GB worth of files during the day.

Have fun with it!