Messages

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Street & City / Re: How to not get beat up when photographing public places?

« on: March 19, 2013, 12:46:29 AM »

I hate people posng and smiling for me.

Yeah well, this subject didn't even know I had a camera - that was the point of my whole story.  This wasn't a "posng and smiling" shot. It was a street candid of a woman trying to entice the sale of her street yams. (Wait, that didn't sound quite right.)

Slate.com just published an interesting article about street photography in the 70's: http://www.slate.com/blogs/behold/2013/03/18/paul_mcdonough_new_york_city_1968_1971_documents_the_quirky_nature_of_new.html

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Street & City / Re: How to not get beat up when photographing public places?

« on: March 18, 2013, 02:05:05 AM »

If I'm "touring" and want to capture some street shots, I use my LX-7 and keep it slung over my shoulder, lens cap off, AV, and cued up. I have my shoulder strap adjusted so that the camera rests at the perfect angle for me to just press the shutter casually without having to raise it or compose.  Of course, many shots will miss and often I will need to straighten and crop after, but I can get some great shots this way and no-one knows I'm even taking pics. For example, I'm in China at the moment and here's a pic I took a few days ago SOOC.

If I'm home based, and I want to shoot a protest or rally or even just some street, I'll use my DSLR gear and throw a name-badge lanyard on. I've got all types of badges from conferences and events at work - none of them have to do with photography. But nobody reads the badge, it just looks "official". People very rarely question what they perceive as "authority", no matter how informal. If I am questioned, I just state that I'm capturing some candid photos of "the event", "the local population", "the citizens of Chicago", and then I follow with "would you like to be in a shot?". I took some candids at a Native American rally a couple months ago and one of the guys actually gave me his facebook name so I could send him a shot. After that, I got about 10 candids of him throughout the rally and was sure to follow up by sending him the pics. He ended up reposting and changed his profile pic to one of my shots. It worked out great.

So, basically, what others have said. If you have to go stealth, use a nice compact. If you bring out your real gear, act like you know what you're doing, smile, talk, invite, and shoot.

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Site Information / Re: Can't change signature / profile

« on: February 12, 2013, 09:19:12 PM »

I wasn't able to change my signature (see a few posts ago). However, when I created a new topic, shortly thereafter, the link to change my signature was active in my Profile.

Not sure if there is a relationship, but that's the only thing that I did and the signature option "appeared".

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Lighting / Re: How to use flash with av,tv

« on: February 10, 2013, 02:02:53 AM »

I may be wrong, but it's my understanding that the camera metering system will meter only for ambient light, and will not change regardless of if you have a flash on it or not.

Things get complicated with the flash because you have an interplay of two different systems - the body meter for exposure and then the flash reading for power (the body measures both through e-ttl - evaluative through the lens). Starting out, I found it easier to go to manual on either the body or the flash so that I could figure out what the heck was going on. 

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EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Opinion on upgrades

« on: February 08, 2013, 11:40:16 PM »

In reading the responses to this post, I have to say that this is some of the best advice that I've read in a variety of forums.

I have a crop (T4i) and do have the 17-55 2.8. I can attest that it is a great lens. I recently picked up a deal on a new Mark II with the 24-105. I haven't shot with the Mark II yet (was debating on whether to keep, sell, or return - I'm leaning strongly towards keeping) but I did pop the 24 on my crop and gave it a go. Again, wonderful pics. (Actually, after reviewing results from the 24 in Lightroom, I said to myself, "there's no way this lens is going anywhere!")

I would chime in with the recommendation for the 17-55 for the crop, particularly if you plan on staying crop.

If you KNOW you want to go FF, then there's plenty of deals to be had on the Mark II's, and if you get the kit, it comes with the very capable 24-105L.

I can say that if I keep the Mark II, I will also plan to keep my T4i with the 17-55. The body is efficient, has great focus and speed, I like the touch screen, and perhaps most influential in my decision is that my young daughter will eventually move beyond the bridge she's learning on and will benefit greatly from a legacy T4i.

Photography is a career for some, a hobby for others, a passion for many, but for all, it should be FUN!

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Reviews / Re: Why I Chose a Canon EOS 6D over a 5D MKIII

« on: February 08, 2013, 10:43:07 PM »

Here's the thing. Everyone is coming into this thread already knowing that the 5D mark III is the better overall camera. But what I'm also seeing is people who need to justify their purchases again, and that's where all the flaming starts. The truth is, the 6D is a great full frame camera to build on, but it's not that far down below the 5D mark III, especially for normal use. The uneducated folks in this forum seem to use the word "rebelized" (a term which only applies to Americans, really) a lot, and probably never even used a rebel much less a 6D to actually feel and shoot photos with them to know the difference. Another misconception I notice is the justification of the 6D sensor being incrementally better. What is unknown to both DXO and someone who hasn't shot photos with both, is that the difference is barely if not at all seen in real world results. Fact is, the 5D mark III will always produce more keepers in some specific shooting conditions, and IQ is more than just nailing one good photo. IQ is also about nailing good photos all the time. And that's the main reason why people put the 6D down, not throwing into account that the 6D in general purpose will at least do more than half of the 5D mark III's job just as good. I.e if you're a landscape or macro/portrait shooter you will very rarely need the higher AF performance and will make up for it in a big way with its more robust, low noise, full frame sensor. That said, the 6D is doing quite well picking up from where the 5D mark II left off and the 5D mark III is a very good next generation camera.

Very well said. 

In thinking about it, I guess there's really just a few important questions (and these questions will change depending upon your personal use and need). Here's what I think (IMO) are a few of those questions...

1. Can I afford this camera? (And does it offer ME value?)
2. Will I use this camera? (And then, will I use it as the tool it's designed to be utilized as? )
3. Will I be pleased with the results that come from this camera? (Note that this is also a function of understanding your own skill level - lot's of people are perfectly pleased with P&S camera results).
4. If this is related to my work/business, can I make money with this camera's results?
5. And, probably my favorite question, Will I have fun shooting this thing?!

There may be more, but in essence, that's really what's important. I bet a lot of 6D, 5D III, and other model's owners can all answer a resounding YES to those questions. I ask myself these questions for my camera's, my A/V equipment, and my car. Gotta be fun though - that's a deal killer. 

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EOS Bodies / Need seasoned advice - keep 5D Mark II or NO?

« on: February 08, 2013, 01:12:46 PM »

Hey All,

I'm new to the forums here, so greetings. Ive enjoyed the discussions here quite a bit and wanted to toss this question out to the group.

I was able to pick up a 5D Mark II + 24-105 bundle when Fry's was clearing them out ($2100).

To this point, I shoot crop (T4i, 17-55), and I do have some lenses that are compatible with FF, so lenses are not a factor. I shoot family, kids, street/photojounalism, and a bit of landscape. No birding, no high speed sports. I post-process in Lightroom.

However, I'm grappling with the debate of whether to 1) keep the 5D II as an introduction to FF, or 2) return it and go 6D, OR 3) return it, wait a while, and then go 5D III.

I understand the spec differences between all three bodies, and the capabilities and limitations of all.

What are your thoughts? Will the 5DII provide an IQ experience different from my T4i? (notwithstanding focal differences, which I understand).

Would you, in this situation, be disappointed in the limitations of the 5DII?

Is the cost of investment in the 5DII at this time better leveraged with the 6D/5D III?

Thanks for reading. I'm well within my return period, so I just want ensure I'm making the most rational decisions of whether to keep or change my strategy.

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EOS Bodies / Re: on the verge of buying, just need some final moral support

« on: February 07, 2013, 12:48:08 PM »

the 5d3 doesnt seem too far away in price, but i cant really justify getting it! lol

Ok, so here's the thing about trying to justify gear purchase.  Just don't do it.  Instead, pick any feature of a piece of gear and arbitrarily define that feature as a necessity for a particular near-term purpose... after a few days or weeks you will start to integrate that thought into your conscious and subconscious mind and, voila, you no longer need to "justify" anything because it's a necessity.  I have plenty of gear I rarely use but I don't regret a single purchase because they were and are necessities.  Most recently it was necessary that I purchase a 5D3 and 24-70mm f/2.8 II.  And so I did.  I now have a 5D2 and a 7D that I rarely use but I'm glad to have them because they are necessary.  When the 7D2 comes along I will buy that too.  And my 5D2 will be the backup for the 5D3 and the 7D will be the backup for the 7D2.  See, it's awesome.  Enjoy.

Edit... I'm kidding.  Kind of.

  You had me going. Lol

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Site Information / Re: Can't change signature / profile

« on: February 07, 2013, 12:27:34 PM »

Hey All,

Fairly new to these boards (but not to boards in general). I can't seem to figure out exactly where to change the signature. I've scoured the profile area and just can't seem to find where I can change my personal info and signature. Am I missing something? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

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EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Thinking of downgrading my 5d3 system

« on: February 07, 2013, 03:08:19 AM »

Hey All,

New to the forums and just wanted to say that this thread was one of the most interesting threads that I've read in a long time!