Topics

1

Speedlites, Printers, Accessories / Trigger voltages of old flashguns - will they damage my 600D?

« on: December 07, 2012, 07:22:17 AM »

I have a 600D and would like to do some family portraits over Christmas. I have only used the built-in flash a couple of times for fill-in and wouldn't use it for portraits.
I do have some quite powerful Sunpak 3600 flashguns from 30 years ago which I dug out recently and was amazed to find are still working.
I have a Canon dedicated hotshoe connector for the Sunpaks but wonder whether this is safe to use with my 600D. I used to use it with my T-90 and A-1.

any suggestions on where to find answers to these questions would be helpful. I can't seem to find anything about what is safe to use on the hotshoe with the 600D, other than, obviously, Canon flash stuff.

Thanks

2

Lenses / IQ of 24-105 and 700-300 lenses

« on: October 15, 2012, 10:08:14 AM »

Like many people I'm contemplating upgrading to full-frame with the introduction of the 6D and Nikon's D600.
Given I won't be able to use my EF-S lenses on the 6D the Nikon is a possibility.
Given cost and weight considerations I want two lenses to cover the 24 to 300mm range.
For Nikon this means 24-85 and 70-300. But when looking at test results on slrgear.com the results for these lenses do not seem as good as Canon's 24-105 and 70-300.
However, I was still somewhat disappointed by the 24-105's results from 70 to 105 at full aperture on a full-frame camera. (see link below), yet the lens is widely praised on this forum.

http://slrgear.com/reviews/showproduct.php/product/145/cat/11

How useable is the 24-105 from 70mm upwards?

The results for the 70-300 seem very good (given it's price) at full aperture on full-frame. The review site suggests they are better then the 70-300L for sharpness. Yet the non-L lens seems to get criticised on this forum. (see link below)

http://slrgear.com/reviews/showproduct.php/product/253/cat/11

As I'm primarily concerned about sharpness, given most other things seem treatable in software, I'm wondering whether Slrgear got atypical copies of these lenses, or are their results not consistent with peoples' experiences of using these lenses? I'm confused!
I would appreciate the comments of people who own, or have used these lenses.

Thanks

3

Software & Accessories / Stitching panoramas question

« on: August 14, 2012, 10:33:57 AM »

I've done a search but can't find an answer to this question.
I'm going to try my first panoramas in a nice landscape area soon.
I understand the technique for taking the pictures ok.
Let's say I take 5 images in horizontal format to be stitched together. I'll probably be using Canon's Photostitch software.
How do you know what will be lost from the top and bottom of each of the 5 images when they are stitched together? Or can this be specified by the user?
I'm not talking about the areas of overlap that are needed, but the area at the top and bottom of each picture that will go in order to produce the long thin panorama.
I want to make sure I don't lose something that is integral to the composition.

I hope this makes sense!
Thanks
     

4

Software & Accessories / Backpack with access from the rear to equipment

« on: June 19, 2012, 10:18:57 AM »

From a security point of view I'm interested in backpacks with access from the rear.
I also want two compartments. One for camera stuff and the other for personal things e.g. rain jacket, food etc.
I only want to spend about £100 maximum.
The only things I've found are Lowepro flipside (which doesn't have two compartments anyway) and the Hama Daytour 230.
Are there any other rear access backpacks out there in my price range?
Or are there other backpacks that are as effective security wise?

Thanks for your help

5

Lenses / 18-200 and vignetting with Cokin P holder

« on: March 21, 2012, 07:21:23 AM »

I'm using a Cokin P Holder on top of a Canon UV filter on my 18-200 zoom lens.
I'm puzzled why I'm getting vignetting at 18mm when using a Cokin polariser.
I've used the Cokin setup and the same Canon UV filter on my old FD 20-35 zoom in the past and was able to use it down to 24mm before vignetting started. 18mm on the crop format is equivalent to 29mm. It doesn't make sense!
Is it somethng to do with the design of the 18-200?
Of course I could remove the UV filter as it doesn't vignette then, but I'm always concerned about not having some protection on the front of the lens. I sometimes bang the UV filter glass when taking the Cokin adapter on and off if I am rushing to get a shot in changing light. I don't want to be doing that to the front of the lens!
Has anyone tried the slim UV filters like the Hoya Digital Pro 1 on this lens with the same Cokin setup? Does it vignette at 18mm?
What's even more confusing is that I can use a Hoya Circular Polariser on the front of my Sigma 10-20 (with no UV filter on) and then put the Cokin holder on the front of that and not get vignetting until 14mm! The Hoya is the same thickness as the Canon UV.
Do others encounter these problems with the 18-200, or is mine atypical in some way?

With the filter thread on this lens being plastic I wonder how robust it is over time?
I've only just got mine and I put my Cokin filter holder on and off constantly.
Has anyone who has had an 18-200 for a few years found problems with the filter thread e.g. getting worn?
I'm toying with the idea of leaving the Cokin adapter in place all the time and using a Cokin ring cap in lieu of the Canon lens cap.
But then I wonder whether the pressure of putting the filter holder constantly on and off the adapter ring, when its attached to the lens, will cause problems on the lens filter thread.
Any experience or thoughts about this?
Thanks

6

Technical Support / Battery Charging Problems on brand new 600D

« on: January 27, 2012, 08:04:25 AM »

I've just got a brand new 600D from an official Canon dealer.
I charged the battery as per the manual's instructions. On battery charge full indication on the charger I put it into the camera and the camera indicates only a couple of bars of charge i.e. not fully charged. Canon UK told me to get a new battery and charger from the retailer. The retailer said to charge the battery overnight as it probably isn't fully charged - despite the charger indicating so.
Am I right in thinking an 8 hour charge won't affect battery memory because it is a li-on battery? I don't want to have to wait 8 hours for every battery charge!
Am I being fobbed off by the retailer? Something must be wrong - either the battery or charge indicator, or camera battery indicator. I have no way of checking which is the problem without buying something else, which I'm not inclined to do.
Should I just do what the retailer says and try the longer charge?

7

Lenses / Lens that had potential problems - is it worth a purchase?

« on: January 19, 2012, 02:58:36 PM »

I'm considering buying an EF-S 18-200 zoom from a used equipment dealer. Somewhere on the web ( I can't remember) I found that that lens had been identified as having a potential fault, in that screws came loose internally jamming the zoom mechanism. This was on lenses with serial numbers between 45oxxx and 63xxx. The serial number of this lens is in that range. The dealer does give a 6 month warranty and says the lens has been checked prior to sale. I think I would rather buy from a dealer than on e-bay. I don't know the likelihood of this fault occurring, or whether it has done previously and been fixed.
What do you think - is it worth a gamble or not?

8

EOS Bodies / Does Current Cashback on 600D in the UK indicate end of line?

« on: January 10, 2012, 07:58:23 AM »

Hi everyone. I'm just getting back into SLR photography after many years away, and came across this interesting forum. I used to use FD stuff and film. How things have changed on the SLR front! I was thinking of getting a 600D and superzoom lens to get started again. Other posts here suggest that the 600D is likely to be replaced in early 2012. Does the current £50 cashback offer on that model in the UK seem to reinforce that idea? I don't want to buy something that becomes (relatively) outdated within a few weeks!
Any thoughts?