Messages

1

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: a digital photography noob has a question about image quality

« on: January 31, 2013, 10:10:56 AM »

Jens
I know you originally asked about image quality and you have had lots of comments about that. I just wanted to add some things specific to the nature of your trip. These are about weight and lens choice.
I was fortunate enough to go on safari in Africa 20 odd years ago. I don't know if you are flying, but the small planes sometimes used to get from one place to another generally have baggage weight restricitions. You may be travelling everywhere by van. On my trip I used an A-1 and Ae-1, both with power winders, and Fujichrome 100 film. No luxury of changing ISO! I used a 35-210 zoom on one body for landscapes and anything that was near enough to the safari van. I used a 600mm mirror lens (often with a 1.5x converter) on the other camera.
I wasn't a wildlife shooter before I went on the trip, and haven't been since I came back. But I was absolutely enthralled by it, when placed in its natural environment. The 600mm was invaluable for photographing single animals. There is nothing more frustrating than a photo of a dot in the distance! I don't know how mirror lenses work on digital cameras. I used it in stop-down mode for exposure. If you have been used to focusing manually it won't be a problem. Changing lenses in the dusty bush environment, especially when the van is churning up dust, is best avoided if possible.
My 3 lens choice on FF would be 24-105, 70-200 ( you have) and a mirror lens.
On APS-C it would be 15-85, 70-200 plus as long as you can. I don't know whether mirror lenses fit APS-C.
In the bush you are not walking anywhere much unless they have specific walking safaris.
Have a great trip.

2

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

« on: December 08, 2012, 05:42:34 AM »

Mt Spokane
Thanks for digging out that information. It's great news.
I'll be able to use my old Sunpak flashes now!
Even though they don't have all the modern communication with the camera it'll be easy to assess when exposures are fine with the instant feedback on the camera LCD.
Fantastic!
Thanks

3

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

« on: December 07, 2012, 11:57:51 AM »

Thanks for your speedy and helpful responses.
I guess it's better to be safe than sorry! I might just try the Wein thing but it looks like it isn't available in the UK. It's a pity as the Sunpak's are powerful, flexible off camera guns, and it would cost a lot to get two modern equivalents.
thanks again - this place is a mine of information!

4

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

5

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

« on: October 23, 2012, 05:56:19 AM »

Thankyou to everyone for your thoughts. As natureshots points out Nikon seem to have better cameras at the moment but Canon better lenses. Even the nikon 24-120, never mind the 24-85,  doesn't seem as good as Canon's 24-105. I'll wait and see what the reviews of the 6d are like.
thanks

6

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

« on: October 15, 2012, 11:16:43 AM »

When I ask about peoples' experiences of  "these lenses" I'm talking, of course, about the Canon lenses!

7

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

8

Software & Accessories / Re: Stitching panoramas question

« on: August 17, 2012, 10:19:59 AM »

Thanks for your replies

9

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
     

10

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

11

Lenses / Re: 18-200 and vignetting with Cokin P holder

« on: March 22, 2012, 10:45:58 AM »

Thanks for your response.
I'd thought about trying to reduce the size of the filter holder.
Looks like its out with the hacksaw this weekend!

12

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

13

Technical Support / Re: Battery Charging Problems on brand new 600D

« on: January 27, 2012, 01:26:08 PM »

Thanks - sounds sensible. My main concern was not ruining the battery by excessive charging.

14

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?

15

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Why canon?

« on: January 25, 2012, 01:03:56 PM »

This is a very interesting thread for me, as I am just getting back into photography after a break of 20 years. I started photography with the all manual Praktica MTL3, because it was cheap, and got hooked. For some reason the importance of avoiding camera shake really made an impression on me and Canon's use of shutter priority auto on the AE-1 led me to buy that camera. When the A-1 came out shortly after I thought it was amazing, and had to have one, given I needed two cameras to do colour and b&w. When the T-90 came out it seemed space age, and I got one for the tremendous metering flexibility. Then shortly after Canon started to shift to auto-focus development, and FD lenses became obsolete. I gave up photography shortly after. When I wanted to use a camera again a few years later the T-90 shutter had seized. I got it fixed. It seized again... Now, I've been considering the Nikon D5100 and the Canon 600D. One brother-in-law uses a D700, the other a 5Dmk2. Both are supporting their brands! I really wanted to get the 5100 as I felt I'd been sold down the river by Canon, as my mass of FD stuff, which I still have, was no longer usable with EOS bodies. My Nikon brother-in-law, kept telling me how Nikon hadn't changed their lens mount etc. But the D5100 video seemed poor compared to the 600D. I don't anticipate using it much but my wife does. The handling for stills just didn't suit me - not enough direct access to what seem important parameters, if I understand digital ways of working well enough. I bought the 600D body yesterday to get the current cashback. Lens choices next! Then full-frame enticement probably as everywhere I go now I'm seeing potential photos..... Canon for APS-C it would seem, but I'm still keeping an open mind should I decide at some point to go for full frame, as the EF-S lenses needed for best match with the cropped format wouldn't be any use. At least Nikon is no different in that respect. I can envisage my son taking the Canon stuff with him when he leaves home and me starting from scratch again! Will I go for Canon for a third time?