Messages

16

Lenses / Re: Just got the canon 16-35 ii and having a hard time seeing the value in this uwa

« on: April 18, 2013, 09:53:24 AM »

The lens will distort anyone that you take a picture of. Typically a portrait is taken with a lens in the range of 50mm - 200mm, which minimizes distortion. 50mm is equivalent to what you see with your eye. With that being said it doesn't mean that you cant take good pictures or portraits with your 16-35. In tight spaces you might need the wide end of that lens. If you have Mickey Mouse standing there next to you take the picture with the lens closer to him to make him larger than life while still including the family. Basically, you have to be more creative with an ultra-wide to make images that are stunning. It is a really fun lens!! Just practice with it & get a feel for the lens. I love mine!

17

Lenses / Re: Insurance on camera equipment

« on: April 18, 2013, 09:25:09 AM »

Inland Marine.  It's very affordable and is designed for business that have gear that is used in mobile instances.  Policy allows ad on's and take off's of items you have covered.  So if you sell you're EF 500mm, you can deduct it from the policy for some savings and then add on the new EF 800mm L that you just purchased! 

As with many of the other recomendations here, the premium is based on the value of all the items being covered.  All accidental type of incidents and theft, etc. are covered...

+1    I have a policy through these guys as well, except I purchased it through PPA (Professional Photographers of America). Both companies are good to work with. They require anything over $200 I believe to be on the schedule. I pay just under $1.50/$100 of coverage for close to $20k worth of coverage. The coverage is quite extensive too. I could leave my gear in an unlocked car, have the gear stolen & still be covered.

18

Lighting / Re: T3i - 600EX-RT or Canon Speedlite 580EX II

« on: April 17, 2013, 02:01:30 PM »

Actually the 600EX-RT can be used as a slave or a master. That means is that it can control or be controlled, so you might not ever need a ST-E3-RT & no you would NOT need any PocketWizards. Say you have two 600EX-RTs & one ST-E3-RT. With that setup if you need to use a speedlite on the camera you can use that flash plus control the other 600EX-RT that is placed somewhere off camera. You could also have both 600s off camera & control them with the ST-E3-RT, if you don't need a speedlite on the camera. Another VERY NICE feature is that the controls, buttons & menu on the ST-E3-RT is IDENTICAL to the 600EX-RT, so you only need to learn one menu system. If the speedlites give you enough power & recycle speed (which I assume in your case it will be plenty) then the 600s are the best, most controllable, easiest to use & most versatile system that you can buy into. Canon hit a homerun with this one!

P.S.- The ONLY way that Canon could have made this system better is if they would allow PocketWizard interconectability. That way you would be able to fire monolights or powerpacks from the same controller.

19

Lighting / Re: T3i - 600EX-RT or Canon Speedlite 580EX II

« on: April 17, 2013, 11:42:28 AM »

Any of the speedlites that you can buy now will work as a slave flash using the built-in IR sensor. However it has its limitations. It doesn't work very well outside on a bright sunny day, it works best indoors, it HAS to have line-of-site with the master flash or controller. If you want to use an older flash but want a more reliable & powerful way of triggering the flashes there aftermarket radio transceivers that you can buy. The most popular radio transceiver brand is PocketWizard. You can take a look at them with the link below.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/844969-REG/PocketWizard_801_130_Plus_III_Transceiver_Radio.html

I personally have two 600's with the controller. Honestly, it is a dream to use!! You can control everything from the camera without going to the speedlite & lowering the light stand down to you. It just makes it so simple & efficient. One advantage to the 600 over the 580 (aside from the radio control) is that it is more powerful & has a larger guide number.

600's are expensive, but not nearly as expensive once you start adding pocketwizards into the equation & considering the the advantages of the 600s system.

20

Technical Support / Which RAW processing software do you use?

« on: April 16, 2013, 12:14:31 PM »

Are there any others that I missed?

21

Technical Support / Re: MacBook Pro : Best RAW Processing Software?

« on: April 16, 2013, 12:07:34 PM »

I use Lightroom & I think probably the majority of others on this forum use it as well. That could be a new survey!! Lightroom has a very good workflow! It costs $150 for the full version (not an upgrade from an older version).

22

Canon General / Re: Why do you do Photography?

« on: April 16, 2013, 11:39:51 AM »

There are way less people on this forum that are do photography for $$$ (either full or part-time) than I would have guessed!! I make a little money on the side. I have done two weddings so far, family & senior pictures & have sold some landscape prints as well, but I still do it more as a hobby than anything. I say its mostly a hobby because I don't make NEARLY enough money with the photography to pay for all the gear I own & buy on a regular basis.

I just thought that there would be more guys on here doing on the side.....I mean most of you guys have some very nice kits & have a lot of money invested to not make a little extra on the side.

23

Lenses / Re: EF 200-400 f/4L IS 1.4x Availability

« on: April 16, 2013, 10:05:10 AM »

could not care less about when or if this 10000 euro lens is released.

but i want a great 12-24mm lens... !!!

I want both! Not looking good for my bank account!!

24

EOS Bodies / Re: AF improvements in new bodies

« on: April 16, 2013, 09:49:59 AM »

I would imagine that the AF relies heavily on hardware, like optical sensors & the digic processor.

25

Canon General / Re: Why do you do Photography?

« on: April 16, 2013, 09:36:22 AM »

It started out as a trial, got my 7D for personal use and didn't think anything about it. Then I thought, I _have_ to learn this stuff as it would be embarrassing going around with a 7D on Full auto. So I got a few books and was hooked, things just sort of escalated from there and now it's earning some money as a side job.

I agree with previous posters, good stress relief and I enjoy it, plus, there's always some new thing I want to get out and try. A lot of inspiration comes from the likes of flickr et al. "Whoa! How'd they do that? I want to try it too." -sort of thing.

My story is exactly the same right down to the 7D as my first body for personal use! I just fell in love with photography! I even sold my BMW motorcycle (another expensive hobby) to buy more photography gear!! Its such an addiction!!

26

Canon General / Re: How do you buy equipment?

« on: April 16, 2013, 09:28:41 AM »

I always pay cash for everything that I buy. A lot of my bigger purchases are bought with either bonuses that I get during the year or with my tax return. I do buy a lot of smaller items throughout the year as well. I have only bought things as I can afford them. Yes, doing it this way you will miss opportunities or have to rent things, BUT, the photography isn't bringing home the bacon, or even (in my case) self sufficient. You have another job that is supporting your photography habit/hobby/part-time job. Let it grow as you build your gear & experience.

The only other thing that I could possibly see is to get a small business loan & get what you want/need. I have considered this myself. This would only be if you are really pushing you photography & it isn't only a hobby for you anymore.

I also buy online, usually at B&H. I live hundreds of miles away from anything remotely considered a camera/photography store.

27

EOS Bodies - For Video / Re: What's that accessory in the picture?

« on: April 12, 2013, 11:43:26 AM »

And what lens and camera is being used?

Looks like an EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L II USM to me mounted to a 5DM3.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/843008-USA/Canon_5175B002_EF_24_70mm_f_2_8L_II.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/847545-REG/Canon_5260A002_EOS_5D_Mark_III.html

28

EOS Bodies / Re: 5DM3 Firmware Update

« on: April 12, 2013, 10:00:30 AM »

If you go to the Canon site for the 5D3:  http://usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/cameras/slr_cameras/eos_5d_mark_iii#DriversAndSoftware    you will see that you can select your OS. The latest Mac OS that they list for their 1.1.3  firmware is Lion, but I believe it should install fine with Mountain Lion.

Thanks for the reply! I should have tried it with Mac OS 10.7, even though I have 10.8.

29

EOS Bodies / Re: 5DM3 Firmware Update

« on: April 12, 2013, 08:48:42 AM »

I just updated my my 5DM3 to 1.1.2 firmware. This was the first time that I have updated firmware on a Canon camera & I used to have a 7D as well. What surprised me is that the firmware version was only available for Windows & not a Mac. Why is this?? Is there an easy way to update the firmware using a Mac?? I did get my camera updated, but I had to scour the web for it. I would much rather go directly to the Canon USA website to get the update. Thanks in advance!!

30

5D MK III Sample Images / Re: Need some help in editing.

« on: April 09, 2013, 10:38:30 AM »

I'm no PS expert, but this is what I come up with.

Contrast -50
Clarity +100
Saturation -100