Messages

1

Landscape / Re: Landscape photography from around the world, shot on Canon

« on: March 17, 2013, 02:27:31 AM »

Hi Graham, the pictures of your first post are fantastic! The use of the color filters was well done. I like especially the sepia tones.

For two pictures you mentioned the use of reverse grad filters and the sky is very well balanced in these shots. But the reflections in the water below are brighter than the sky in your pictures. Was this done by intention or just the lack of a weaker, 2nd reverse grad filter to compensate for the reflection as well?

Best regards, Robert

2

Software & Accessories / Re: Good GND filter to go with new Lee system

« on: March 07, 2013, 08:29:27 PM »

In the attached shot I used a combination of a 0.6 grad ND with a 0.9 grad ND filter. Not really a good idea normally because the sky turns to dark grey on the edges of such a shot. But in this picture it worked more or less. Flare was a biggest concern and I had to experiment a lot with the aperture. A f2.5 worked best for the EF 35mm L used in this shot. Any smaller aperture caused a lot more flare.

BTW, the shot is the re-sized jpeg straight out of cam.

Kind regards, Robert

3

Software & Accessories / Re: Good GND filter to go with new Lee system

« on: March 07, 2013, 08:18:09 PM »

Hi,
I have a full set of 0.3, 0.6 and 0.9 soft and hard grad ND filters as well as a 0.6 reverse grad ND & 0.9 reverse grad ND filter, which I can combine with a 10 stop ND and/or a 105mm Pol filter. So it is easy for me to compare the effects.

The 0.3 grad NDs were a waste of money. I never used them so far. The same goes for the 0.9 reverse grad ND filter, which is very rarely used.

For an average sunset or sunrise I use only the 0.6 reverse grad ND filter when the sun is near to the horizon. Very seldomly I need to combine it with  a normal grad ND (at the sea for example). The attached shot is also such a case. It was shot with a 0.6 grad ND + 0.9 reverse grad ND in order to see something of the village on the bottom of the picture. I used the "expose to the right" technique and then made a HDR from the single RAW file.

If you don't plan to buy a dozen filters, get a 0.6 hard grad ND and a 0.9 soft grad ND filter. A pol filter is a very useful addition to the grad ND filters. The 105mm Lee adaptor ring works well but any 105mm pol filter used on the Lee filter holder will add some vignetting to wide angle lenses. With my TS-E 24mm L it starts at about 8mm of shift when using the 105mm pol filter, no matter if a grad nd filter is used or not.

4

Software & Accessories / Re: Square 100 x 100 mm ND filters

« on: January 27, 2013, 03:15:08 AM »

Hi, if you intend to use the 82mm wide angle adaptor for the lee system on the TS-E 24mm II, 8-9mm of shift should be possible without any vignetting (except for the lens' own vignetting of about 1-2 stops). In case you want to use a 105mm pol filter on the lee system, vignetting starts at 9mm and becomes quite strong. The vignettiing of the pol filter is caused by the the rather long distance of the filter from the lens. The use of square filters has no influence here.

5

Software & Accessories / Re: Square 100 x 100 mm ND filters

« on: January 24, 2013, 06:38:48 PM »

Hi,
the HiTech ND 1.8 and new 3.0 were introduced at the same time, if I remember correctly. I have the old and the new version of the ND 3.0 filter in 100mm x 100mm size. Both have a strong bluish cast, which can be quite annoying. The new one is better but the bluish cast still immediately visible.

The HiTech ND 1.8 filter is also available as a glass filter, see here: http://www.teamworkphoto.com/hitech-prostop-irnd-glass-filters-c-1047_78_1115_1978_1984.html

6

Landscape / Re: Spiral Arm of the Milky Way above the Texas Desert

« on: January 22, 2013, 02:24:49 PM »

Hi,
Thank you for these great shots! I'm living in the largest city of central Europe (Berlin) and so I never saw the Milky Way myself. It never get's dark enough here.... No village or town is further can dozen miles away

7

Software & Accessories / Re: What brand of ND filters do you have?

« on: January 11, 2013, 09:15:45 PM »

I use the HiTech filters for a while now. They do the job but they are definitely not the best you can get. They are rather cheap and you can see why. I've got a full set of grad and reverse grad nd filters as well as the orignal and the new 3.0 ND filter. While the newer 3.0 ND filter is a significant improvement, the strong blue color cast is still bothering me a lot.

If you are really serious into landscape photography, consider buying the Lee filters. The HiTech filters will help to save money but detoriate your image quality.

8

Canon General / Re: Working as an assistant.

« on: January 11, 2013, 08:22:13 PM »

Hi, just speak to him on your first day. All these questions can be answere within 10min. Don't worry.

Be polite, listen carefully, take notes when necessary and ask for clarification in case something is unclear to you.

You probably got the job because of your abilities and current knowledge. So all you need to know in this new position they will teach you, like in any other job.

9

Portrait / Re: Post your best portraits(street, studio, candid etc...).

« on: December 31, 2012, 08:13:42 AM »

My favorite shot from a recent shoot.

Great shot! I love the light and especially those blue eyes.

10

Lenses / Re: Buying used lens

« on: December 27, 2012, 06:32:09 PM »

I bought all of my lenses used, except for the EF-S 18-55mm and EF-S 55-250mm, which were bought in a kit with my first DSLR. It was really a waste of money...

I had bad luck with the EF 35L. The autofocus is off and needs a lot of AFMA (+17), which was not possible with my 450D when I bought the lens. So this was rather disappointing but didn't stop me. 1 out of 12 used lenses is OK for me and I saved more than 3000€ in the meantime.

I bought used lenses from camera shops, ebay and members in camera forums. There is a large German forum about DSLRs in which you can find dozens of used lenses every month. At ebay you can at least check the seller's reputation. In a forum you need to trust your common sense. I always ask first if the lens is still available, then what kind of payment methods are available etc. and then decide to buy it or not. The conversation, which develops through the exchange of several PNs can tell you quite a lot of a person, e.g. his full name and address (if you ask for it).

In the end you need to decide if it is more important for your to save 30-40% or have a warranty. If you want to save at least some money (maybe 10-25%) and have a warranty, buy from a commercial seller. At least in Germany they have to give you a 1 year warranty on used goods and if you bought it on the internet/by phone, you can send it back within the first 14 days without giving any reasons (local law in Germany: §§ 355 ff BGB).

11

Software & Accessories / Re: Tripod: Carry-On or Check-In

« on: December 14, 2012, 08:37:33 PM »

Hi, please be aware that in Europe quite a lot of airlines allow just one carry-on bag + a laptop. So I regularly need to check in my tripod or they would count it as my only carry-on item. But I prefer to have my camera bag close with me.  BTW, if you carry a heavy camera bag, the customs might get suspicious and send you for an extra check by the border control. It happened to me last year in Frankfurt. I was asked to come with them and then they checked for more than 5 min every item of the bag "for explosives". 

12

Lenses / Re: Lenses for Ice Cream Photography

« on: November 22, 2012, 06:04:17 PM »

If you have the budget, one could think as well about the 90mm f2.8 TS-E that will offer even more possibilities for food pictures on a tripod. It's the lens I use the most (by far) for studio pictures of small items.

The TS-E 90mm is definitely the better lens for food and product photography. To fill the frame with some icecream scoops and keep everything in focus is hardly possible with a macro lens, if you want to avoid difraction. A tilt-shift lens is the way to go on a DSLR. A used TS-E 90mm should cost about as much as a new EF 100mm f2.8 L IS. Of course a tripod and some kind of light setup is also needed.

I would hire a food photography nonetheless for the first pictures.  You can learn quite a lot, especially about the lighting. To set up the camera and lens is rather easy compared to the light and food preparation.

13

EOS Bodies / Re: A Brief 2013 Canon Roadmap [CR1]

« on: November 13, 2012, 08:37:47 PM »

A proper 50mm lens would be great and a 40+ megapixel cam a great update for my 5dII.

But really needed is an update to their ancient TS-E 45mm. Currently in the 40-60mm range there is no perfectly usable tilt-shift lens with superior IQ available from any company. The Schneider and Hartblei lenses are overpriced and the super-rotator design outdated. The older Arsat 55mm lacks resolution and proper coating as well as all the other older MF tilt-shift lenses. So there is really a huge gap between the great wide angle tilt-shift lenses from Canon and the tele ones from Canon, Hartblei and Schneider. Maybe Samyang will make one...

14

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Natural Progression of Camera Bodies. Type Your story below.

« on: November 02, 2012, 03:04:17 PM »

1997 first own camera: no name film P&S
2002 - 2006 Canon Powershot A200 digital P&S, shutter button broke
2007 - 2009 Canon Powershot S2IS super zoom P&S, shutter button worn-out
2009 - 2011 Canon 450D, still used for macro and as P&S with 17-55 sometimes
2012 - now Canon 5D II
2012 - now Canon S100

15

Canon General / Re: Europe trip, 1-2 months

« on: October 07, 2012, 01:59:06 PM »

Hi, in early April most of central and northern Europe is still in the middle of spring. So there are lots of spring flowers but the trees and fields are still bare. The weather is also very unstable and temps vary between 5 and 15°C mainly. In April southern Europe is best. In May I would go north to central Europe. e.g. The Netherlands or Germany. Now the fields are green and yellow (flowering rapeseed). The forests show wonderful fresh green. Central Europe looks best mid to end of May. I'm German, so I know the region quite well.

Best would be to choose a region, e.g. Iberian Peninsula, for 3-4 weeks and then move on to next. In the larger countries you can also spend the whole 2 months and experience the endless old towns andancient villages.

 I would start in southern Spain / Portugal / Italy, then go through southern France to either Belgium and The Netherlands / Ireland and GB / southern and east Germany. From north or northeast Germany southern Scandinavia (Danmark and southern Norway or Sweden) is easy and fast to reach, even by train.