Messages

1

Software & Accessories / Re: Alternatives to Adobe Software

« on: May 07, 2013, 01:15:47 PM »

Fasten yer wallets boys - its gonna be a bumpy ride.   They are the Borg -- Resistance is futile.  You will be assimilated.

I think you are correct they are the Borg.  They seem to be even below the Ferengi in their business model as even the Ferengi know the importance of customers.  Perhaps in their assimilation of the Ferengi they confused employee with customer in Rule 211 of the Rules of Aquistion which is as follows:

211. Employees are the rungs on the ladder of success. Don't hesitate to step on them.

 

2

Landscape / Re: Post Your Comet Pictures

« on: March 13, 2013, 12:22:05 AM »

#4 - Too enticing not to get this one too

Definitely too enticing.  Great shot.

3

Landscape / Re: Post Your Comet Pictures

« on: March 13, 2013, 12:06:16 AM »

I used my 70-200mm tonight on the shore of Lake Travis outside Austin and got a few shots.

4

Landscape / Re: Post Your Comet Pictures

« on: March 12, 2013, 05:05:30 PM »

I'll be shooting tethered and / or chimping on the rear LCD...but remind me...what's that rule of thumb again for star trails and focal length v shutter speed...?

Rule of 600 -  Divide 600 by lens mm.  For a 50mm lens- 600/50=12 seconds.

5

Landscape / Re: Post Your Comet Pictures

« on: March 12, 2013, 03:25:12 PM »

The following link will send you to the stardate.org website viewing guide for the comet along with a diagram of it's location in the sky over the next several days:  http://stardate.org/mediacenter/March2013_CometPanstarrs

In Austin, Texas it started to come into view at about 8:20 PM CST Monday.  It is my understanding that tonight it should be a little higher and appear several minutes later.  If you have older eyes like me, I would recommend using binoculars to help find it.  I kept looking just above the horizon, but it was actually higher than I expected.  I was fortunate to have an astronomy buff with me who had watched it the night before and who brought out his star viewing rig to observe it.  I must say, I am pretty good at finding things when someone has me look through their binoculars which are mounted on a tripod and locked on to the object.

Good luck.

6

Landscape / Re: Post Your Comet Pictures

« on: March 11, 2013, 11:56:20 PM »

Here are a few I took a couple of hours ago in Austin using my old FD 800mm and my 5dIII at ISO 3200.  I may try again tomorrow at a different location with a little wider angle lens to try to get some foreground.

7

PowerShot / Re: A camera for backpacking into the wilderness...

« on: January 24, 2013, 06:22:43 PM »

For backpacking I have gone the ultralight route and picked up the Gossamer Gear 2012 Mariposa backpack.  What led me to this pack is that it has a large volume for an ultralight pack and most importantly, the hip belt slides through a sleeve so that it can be replaced with a Think Tank Pro Speed Belt.  (I also attached some Velcro to the belt so that it attaches better to the Velcro inside the sleeve of the pack) The Pro Speed Belt is padded and comfortable and it allows you to use the Think Tank holsters, including their lighter weight Skin series holsters and pouches, to hold your camera and accessories.  The light weight pack and my other light weight items help offset the weight of the camera. While you will spend money on backpacking gear, you could outfit yourself and your boy with a lot of ultralight camping gear for much less than your $1,500.00 budget.  The only other issue with this approach is whether a Mariposa is large enough for the both of you.  Whether it is big enough may depend on where you are going.  If it is cold you will need a lot more clothes and heavier sleeping bags.

One significant caveat to this approach is that all you may really need is a very small inexpensive portable camera, with video and extra batteries, that you can stick in your shirt pocket and pull out at a moment’s notice.  As an older guy, I have come to realize that the countryside is likely to be there for a long time, but the experience of traveling with your family is fleeting.   My suggestion is to not worry too much about capturing the surroundings in all the glory your dslr can provide, but to focus on getting a bunch of shots of your son and the both of you together.  I am willing to bet that 15 years from now you would much rather have a lot of shots of your son than the landscape.  A compact camera of a lesser quality than your dslr will likely meet these needs just as well and may be more readily available to capture the moment.

You may be an experienced backpacker so this will not be news to you, but if you are not, don’t weigh yourself down too much.  You don’t want to feel like a pack mule and not enjoy these fleeting moments. However, if you are willing to accept the weight of your dslr, the Think Tank holster system allows you to access your camera almost as quick as pulling out a compact camera.  Plus, you don't have to accept the limitations of a compact.

There is also a whole forum section devoted to backpacking with kids which can be found at http://forums.backpacker.com/cgi-bin/forums/ikonboard.cgi?act=SF;f=993107219

Have a great trip.
 

8

Animal Kingdom / Re: Show your Bird Portraits

« on: December 31, 2012, 10:28:04 AM »

I've got to tell you Lloyd, I like that image too... maybe just a slight crop going in from the bottom right, up and toward the center, just a little bit!

How do you feel about the Ed Mika adapter?  I've read about them but wasn't sure if they were worth the effort.  That being said, I have some nice FD L glass, like a huge 300 prime... thing must be 8" in diameter, but I'd love to hook it up to my 5d3 or my 7D just for giggles... not sure if it's worth the investment in the adapter... Are they priced fairly decent?
Ken

Ken, I like the Ed Mika adapters.  They are reasonably priced at about $150.00 and are available for many manual focus lens. Ed sells them on Ebay so do a search for "edmika" on Ebay and you can see a list of his adapters.  I also have one for the Canon FD 55mm f/1.2.  The only issue with some of the adapters is that there can be clearance issues with the mirror on some cameras.  Ed discusses this issue on many of his listings and is very responsive to any question you may have.

I like the fd 800mm better with my 5d3 than with my 60d.  It may be because I am getting better at my long lens technique and manually focusing than I was with my earlier shots with the 60d.  I guess it is also possible that the older lens quality is such that crop sensor magnifies any issues with the lens as it is my understanding that a crop sensor uses only the center portion of the lens.  I will have to defer to the experts here on this point.  However, I like taking wildlife photos and, as wildlife is more active in the early morning and evening, low light is an issue.  I am able to get useable photos with much higher iso settings with the 5d3 than the 60d and therefore get much higher shutter speeds which is important in using this 24" beast of a long lens with no image stabilization.

9

Animal Kingdom / Re: Show your Bird Portraits

« on: December 31, 2012, 12:21:03 AM »

This is one of the Bald Eagles living near the Llano River in Texas.  I took this yesterday on a gray day.

Nice Lloyd!  Which case number were you set at for your AF on this one?

Ken, this was a manual focus shot with my 5DIII using an old Canon 800mm fd L lens with the Ed Mika adaptor.   I focused in live view with a Zacuto Z-finder. It is a crop of the following photo:

10

Animal Kingdom / Re: Show your Bird Portraits

« on: December 25, 2012, 12:51:31 AM »

This is one of the Bald Eagles living near the Llano River in Texas.  I took this yesterday on a gray day.

11

Landscape / Re: Post Your Best Landscapes

« on: October 24, 2012, 06:07:48 PM »

I took this a month ago at Old Faithful.  It was cool to see it go off late at night when no one else was around. I took it with a 60D and with all the all the blurry noise correction it seems more like a painting than a photo, but I like it.

12

Lenses / Re: Lens and filter options for landscape photography

« on: October 16, 2012, 05:37:48 PM »

If you are considering filters, the TS-E 17 does not lend itself to the use of filters.  There are several who have made some very interesting devices to adapt filters to this lens, but I don't believe that there is an off the shelf device to hold a filter for the TS-E 17.

13

Lenses / Re: Canon fd lenses

« on: October 12, 2012, 03:14:01 PM »

I am using EdMika's adapters on a Canon FL 55MM f1.2 LENS and a Canon FD L 800mm and have been happy with both on my 60D.   The 55mm has a wonderful bokeh.  Ed also appears to be making adapters for FD lenses in a similar mm.  I don't know the difference in the quality of the FL vs FD lenses at 55mm, but I am very impressed with the quality of the 55mm FL.  Of course at 1.2, manual focus of near objects is a challenge as even a minor change in distance between camera and the subject will give you an oof.  Be sure to research or ask Mr. Mika whether using the adapter on your model camera will present a mirror interference issue at infinity.  As I recall, this was an issue with certain adapters and the 5d II.  If you search for "ed_mika" as a seller on ebay and then look at the questions and answers for his many adapters you will gain more insight into this option.  Ed also posts here under the name of "Ontarian".

14

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Robotic 1DX's for Reuters Olympic shooters

« on: July 05, 2012, 06:13:36 PM »

I have been concerned about robots stealing my place in line for a variety of high tech products.  I finally found protection from the robot threat through Old Glory Insurance Co.  Details of their policy can be found at the following link:

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/old-glory-insurance/229049/

15

EOS Bodies - For Video / Re: Video & Audio

« on: June 04, 2012, 04:52:28 PM »

Does anyone have a good link/video that can clearly outline a nice "workflow" for audio when using DSLR.

Best,

jason

Jason, it might help to know what video editing software you are using.  For example, I am using Final Cut Pro X and, as a beginner, I found it rather easy to synch audio from external sources to the audio taken from the camera.  Therefore, I can get a quality recording on a Zoom H4n, using its internal mic, and then use the lesser quality audio from the camera to sync it to the video.  Since you indicated you were working with students and therefore I assume that price is likely a consideration, you might be surprised at the sound you can get from an inexpensive digital voice recorder attached to an inexpensive lapel mic for an interview.  I also like having the sound isolated from the camera as I don't have to worry about adjusting the camera (or having some other camera sound such as image stabilization) and have the noise transfer to the on-board audio recorder.  Plus you can use multiple cameras and sync them all together using the on-board audio, but rely on the external audio for the final output.  It also keeps the sound consistent, instead of it changing as you edit between different cameras.

I am just an amateur (who apparently likes trinkets per the post above ) so take all of this with a grain of salt.

Kindest Regards, Lloyd