Messages

1

Canon General / Re: Desired fantasy gear

« on: May 16, 2013, 01:42:01 AM »

A high-quality 1.4 tele converter with an on/off switch like in the new 200-400, but works with any lens. That would save a lot of trouble of putting on and taking off the TC, especially in the field doing wildlife. It would make the big primes like a two position zoom - say a 400mm f2.8 going to a 560mm f4 at the flip of a switch.

2

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Outdoor portrait noob help

« on: May 02, 2013, 05:07:59 PM »

If you don't have a scrim or an extra set of hands, get one of those giant shoot-through umbrellas and put in on a stand near your subject to filter any harsh light. Make sure you have a sandbag on the stand to help hold it.

http://www.amazon.com/Westcott-4632-Diffusion-Parabolic-Umbrella/dp/B004QEX0N0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1367528614&sr=8-2&keywords=westcott+7%27+parabolic+umbrella

A reflector would help too, of course, but you'll be surprised how smooth hard sunlight can look coming through a scrim or umbrella.

3

Street & City / Re: Pictures in DC

« on: March 19, 2013, 12:20:45 PM »

All my shots were using the existing lighting that is part of the monuments. The MLK shot is most striking - I got a lucky balance of the spotlights from the ground and some pre-dawn light in the sky. The Lincoln memorial is well lit on the inside (at least for a slow exposure - 1sec @ f8 ISO200). I brightened up the lettering a bit in both cases in post (LR4).

4

Sports / Re: Trying to get noticed...

« on: March 15, 2013, 11:33:20 AM »

These samples look underexposed - especially in the area of the subject's faces. It looks like you were shooting on a grey kind of day, and that adds to the overall dark look. Boosting the saturation on the equipment and brightening things up a bit would add some pop to the images. Shooting against the white spray is almost guaranteed to make other things in the image underexposed - so compensate in camera, or selectively lighten key areas in post.

5

Street & City / Re: Pictures in DC

« on: March 14, 2013, 04:03:11 PM »

I did an early morning set, and it was well worth getting up. I showed up at the Lincoln Memorial about an hour before sunrise and walked around the mall a bit - Lincoln, Washington, etc. Got to the MLK monument just before sunrise. Very, very few people out (of course), which meant it was easy to setup a tripod to shoot.

FWIW - these are all from a Canon G11 with a little Tamrac Zipshot mini-tripod. I can't blow 'em up big, but they came out pretty well with such a small kit.

I don't think that a UWA lens would have helped with the monuments - you generally have plenty of room to stand back on the outside; and for inside stuff I just shot details (like the Lincoln shot here). And I like the angle for the Washington Monument shot with the capital building in the background instead of the usual straight-on with the reflecting pool.

6

PowerShot / Re: Advice on P&S

« on: January 22, 2013, 11:08:11 AM »

Or the Canon G12 or G15. I got my brother a G12 at Christmas for $300 from B&H.

Smaller than the SX50, bigger than the S100 - but with about the same sensor quality I believe. Good manual controls, plus a hot-shoe which works well with wireless triggers. If she's serious about manual control, this might be a good candidate.

7

Software & Accessories / Re: What's your workflow for the Eye-fi Card ? Fun uses?

« on: December 18, 2012, 05:44:05 PM »

I've used one successfully with my 5D3 and my iPad. Capture RAW to the CF card and medium or small sized JPEGs to the SD (Eye-fi) card. The JPEGs transfer fine to the iPad for quick review or sharing without a router or anything. Put the Eye-fi card in "continuous" mode, which allows it to auto-overwrite when the card fills up.

8

Speedlites, Printers, Accessories / Re: Help me decide: 270EXII vs 90EX

« on: November 12, 2012, 03:12:49 PM »

I carry the older model 270EX for similar reasons - fill flash snapshots, etc. Works great and is small enough to always just leave in your portable camera bag (or even on the camera). The newer model seems to have some nice enhancements as a bonus.

If you don't need a Canon-based wireless master (which is line-of-sight only), the 270EXII is probably a little more versatile as a carry along.

+1 for the Yonguo wireless transceivers - with a couple of those you could use either the 430EX you have, or the new smaller flash you decide on, as off-camera flashes. Buy an extra Yonguo and you could have a two-flash setup when you're ready. And the Yonguo are radio-based, so don't require LOS.

9

Speedlites, Printers, Accessories / Re: AA Battery Charger and Batteries

« on: November 07, 2012, 11:31:50 AM »

Eneloop batteries +1

And try this charger (handles more batteries):

http://www.amazon.com/Titanium-Battery-100-240V-Adapters-MD-1600L/dp/B005UNPM3M/ref=sr_1_23?ie=UTF8&qid=1352305667&sr=8-23&keywords=battery+charger

And, one of these to keep the batteries organized ("point down" for charged, "point up" for drained):

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004YG7JXW/ref=ox_ya_os_product

10

Lighting / Re: Suggestions for a Beauty Dish with a 580 or 600 Canon Speedlite

« on: November 02, 2012, 10:12:36 PM »

Check out the ones from Lumodi - inexpensive and available in several sizes. The construction is very light weight - not poorly made, but you'll need to handle them with some care.

www.lumodi.com