Messages

16

Lenses / Which Super-Zoom is the best?

« on: March 28, 2013, 11:07:11 PM »

With the release of the Canon 100D on the horizon. I wanted to know what is the best super-zoom to buy that my girlfriend could use. She likes photography, but she hates the gear that comes along with it. I'm fine with carrying 3 lens (UWA, 50mm, Tele) but she wants to just have one lens that does it all. She does want the best quality from her gear so I wanted to know which super zoom has the best quality. I understand the negatives of a super zoom lens. So I'm asking everyone out there if they have any recommendations.

NO. The Canon 28-300L is not going to be an option

17

Third Party Manufacturers / [FILM] Which is "quicker" a SLR (AE-1, SRT-201) or Rangefinder (GSN, QL17)?

« on: March 20, 2013, 02:42:03 AM »

I'm going back to film because of my photo 101 class and I am using this as an excuse to add a new film camera to my collection. I'm looking at cameras that existed during the 1970s or older. I have one camera from the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. I'll wait 10 more years to get a camera from 2010s D:

Anyways, any one here have any experience using a film rangefinder other than a Leica? Something like a Canonent QL17 or the cult classic Yashica 35mm Electro GSN. I want to use one to get a feel of what a rangefinder has to offer. Another reason why I'm looking for a rangefinder is to have a small, unobtrusive film camera that I can put in my messenger bag. I like the idea of using a rangefinder as my camera of choice because 1. I don't have a risk of getting any real expensive equipment stolen 2. My friends won't think I'm a weirdo carrying a HUGE DSLR (or SLR)

Please, let me know if you have any opinions or if you want to side with my girlfriend and say I have too much camera gear.

-She will not get off my back for having a Point and Shoot under our pillows -.- YOU NEVER KNOW!

18

Lenses / Re: Is there anything I can improve on this gear list?

« on: March 19, 2013, 07:02:45 PM »

40mm shorty forty and
an 85mm prime

canon 85f1.8 for cheap option
sigma 85 f1.4 for reasonable price
canon 85 f1.2L for boatloads of cash to throw around and bath in

I don't think I want a 40mm. It collides with my 50mm which I can't sell (Since It was a gift from my girlfriend ahaha).

You have good gear, get out and shoot, when you gravitate towards a particular niche, then invest at that point.

+1

As several others have said, you have a good set of lenses.  Shoot for a while and see if there is something missing,then pull the trigger on new glass.

Haha thanks, I'll keep that in mind.

Seriously the 24-105 would be a great addition.   Who wants to change lens all the time?   Light weight and respectfully sharp. 

I don't mind changing lenses. Well, actually I do now that I have a 5Dc. People are right about not having sensor cleaning haha. It doesn't bother me too much because I clean the sensor myself at least every 2 months. Copperhill has great stuff haha.

If I'm you, I would sell all your current lenses and settle for two SHARPEST zooms:

1. 24-70 f2.8 II
2. 70-200 f2.8 IS II

My 2cents, you have too many f4 lenses.

Personally, I feel that I don't "need" f/2.8. It'd be extremely nice, but I don't have that kind of funds haha... unless I win the lottery. If I do, I will give everyone on this forum a lens!

19

Lenses / Is there anything I can improve on this gear list?

« on: March 16, 2013, 08:54:19 PM »

So I made the jump to FF with my 5D

I love it so much and I feel like it was a step up from my T1i. Thanks to everyone who helped me on this forum haha.

My new question is what should my lens set up be? I currently have theses lenses for my 5D:
-Canon 17-40 f/4 (upgraded from a Tamron 17-35 f/2.8-4.0)
-Canon 50mm f/1.8
-Canon 70-200 f/4

Is there any other lens that I should be looking at? I mainly shoot at family parties and friendly gatherings. Occasionally I do some landscape photography and interior/exterior photography of buildings
I'm thinking about getting a Canon 24-105 but I have lens that already cover that focal length. I do want some primes like the Canon 35mm f/2 or the Canon 100mm f/2 (not the 2.8 macro).

I think I'm set for flashes since I have a 580exII and 430exII. Anyone have any suggestions for expanding my gear list?

20

Software & Accessories / Anyone know any good Noise Reduction programs?

« on: March 09, 2013, 03:55:17 AM »

I have Lightroom 3*, Photoshop Cs4, and Canon's DPP software. I'm just curious to what you guys think is the best NR program out there. I'm also curious on how to use NR correctly.

Just a simple question this time haha

*jk, I have LR3 not LR4 sorry

21

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Finally moving to full frame, maybe. Help/advice/criticism needed

« on: February 06, 2013, 04:22:54 AM »

OP, go with your choices.

Get a 5Dc for now, maybe build up a better collection of glass.
Then skip the temptation for a 5d2, it's OK but the 6D has better IQ and possibly better overall AF.

Get a used 6D next year and sell the 5dc for close to what you paid for it.
Best overall dollar value progression and you'll have a really good kit at the end AND along the way.

Thanks Aglet, for now I'll take this route unless the price of a USED 5DmkII goes down to at least $1200. Hopefully. I really want to gain a good collection of lenses and I think I've mentioned this before, if I purchase an L for my crop body I feel like I'd waste it.

Oops, sorry, didn't see the $1500 budget part  .

Don't worry it happens

22

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Finally moving to full frame, maybe. Help/advice/criticism needed

« on: February 04, 2013, 11:20:35 AM »

To be honest, the 5D2, performance wise, is no better than the 5Dc. It's IQ is far superior but if you have duff glass, what's the point?

After you get a 5Dc, save up for the mk3. You can use the 5Dc and then sell it for exactly what you paid for it. The MK3 around holidays could be as low as 2499$, which is what I paid.

It's like a temp camera until you get the MK3. If you don't like the AF performance of the 5Dc, you won't like the MK2. If you don't mind it, the MK2 is an option. If your patient, the MK3 won't limit you later on.

http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=11758.0

That's probably the most logical thing for me to do at the moment. Clarify something for me though, how would you rate the high ISO performance of the 5Dc. I don't have a lot of fast glass yet and I was wondering if the 5Dc could handle those high ISO of 800+

$1500 is not a small amount, you wouldn't want to spend on a used DSLR+lens and regret later ... besdies you say that your "T1i is probably going to die soon" due to it's current shutter count ... the same thing could also happen to a used 5D MK II ... of course if you absolutely cannot wait to get a FF DLSR, at this point of time for under $1500 your only option in my opion is a used 5D MK II & a used 24-105 at best.
But if you can wait, your best bet would be to save up $2000 by the year end (when good deals show up) and buy a brand new 6D + lens ... if you are lucky you might even get it for less.
Have you searched any of the stores to see which camera+lens come under $1500 ... I think that would help you narrow your choices.   

Used is technically what I'm going for, I mean Canon 5dmkII are discontinued so new ones will become more expensive as time goes on if I'm not mistaken. I don't mind having a used body as long as I know the body has been taken care of I'll be fine with it.

And about that whole shutter count thing, I wasn't being serious haha. I'm just using it as an excuse to upgrade

23

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Finally moving to full frame, maybe. Help/advice/criticism needed

« on: February 04, 2013, 03:34:09 AM »

Well, this maybe the year that I make a large jump to a Full Frame camera. The main reason why I'm upgrading is because my T1i is probably going to die soon. It's shutter count (according to Magic Lantern) is 60k and from what I can remember, the shutter life of a rebel series DSLR is around 50k.

SO! I've decided to start saving for a new camera but problem is, I don't know what I should save for. Coming to CR is always my first choice for any questions concerning Canon/Photography.

My budget is $1500 and I need help with which outfit I should get. I'll give you guys as much info that you guys need to help me make a decision or give me some options.

-I don't ever plan on ever turning pro
-Video Mode is not important to me at all since I have inherited a Canon XA10 from a friend
-I don't have good FF glass at all.
  *The only lenses that are compatible with full frame bodies are my Tamron 17-35mm, Tamron 28-200, Canon 50mm and a Canon 70-210 f/4 (All from film camera collections)
-I'm mainly looking for good low-light, high iso performance.
-Weight doesn't matter, neither does weather selling.
-I shoot 50% Landscapes, 45% Candid/Group shots, 5% inanimate objects/slow moving stuff.
-I'll be going on vacation during the summer and winter so I don't know if primes should be a option
-I don't plan on purchasing more after this purchase until I finish college and get into a good career. Which is about 6 years from now -.-

So this is what I'm considering.
1. A Canon 5Dc with a Canon 24-105 OR Canon 35mm+Canon 100mm f/2
2. A Used 5DmkII body
3. A Used 6D

I know, I'm probably the worst at asking these questions because I constantly ask. I'm just trying to make sure I don't get a really bad case of buyers remorse (then again, photography always has buyers remorse added. Along side computers haha).

24

Lenses / Re: Fellow stargazers & nighttime landscape loners!

« on: December 19, 2012, 05:30:35 AM »

Quick question to the OP, or anyone really:

To capture those stars, constleations, and other space oddities do you need a special body like a 60Da or a modded sensor to capture all that stuff in space? I have a regular Canon 500d and I'm really interested in nighttime long exposure shots. I have all the required stuff to start (tripod, levels, remote trigger w/ timers, a UWA lens). Any tips for me?

25

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: I feel like a kid again....

« on: December 19, 2012, 05:26:16 AM »

Hahaha, so you were looking for a hiding spot and you "happpen: to stumble upon your christmas gift? Suuuure haha, we believe you. JUST KIDDING

Your wife must love you. Did you get the macbook with retina display? If not... I don't know if I consider a fair christmas for her

anyways, good luck waiting 6 more days. Start looking for people who are willing to buy to EF-S lenses from you haha.

26

Lighting / New to off camera flash, any tips/guides for beginners?

« on: December 15, 2012, 04:43:31 AM »

Well I finally invested in some stuff for off camera photography. I know that flash photography is a different from of photography that requires more practice. I just wanted to know if there's a site or a book that I can study to get better with my off camera flash. I currently have a "DSLRkit" Radio Trigger that I bought from ebay. It's like a combination of a Yungnuo and a Neweer radio control flash. I like it. I only have one flash so far and it's the Canon 430exII. I don't have an RC control in-camera because my camera was the last one to not have one implemented (Canon T1i)

So what's my next step? Should I practice using just one flash or should I purchase another flash like a Yongnuo YN560? Help me out fellow strobist

27

Canon General / Re: How to shoot parties (general stuff: birthday, halloween, casual gatherings)

« on: October 26, 2012, 11:36:50 AM »

Hmm. Yes!

Okay, so in your situation I'd want to try to capture as much of the ambient of the party as possible. I'd probably start off with your 50mm (80mm 'equivalent' and a nice portrait lens on crop) in manual mode: ISO 400, f/2.8 at 1/60sec. Chimp your screen for a rough idea of where your exposure is landing.

RE: flash I'd probably ceiling bounce or, like you suggest, use that strap-on softbox. I'd probably keep my speedlite in the hotshoe in second curtain sync mode - this is important because at 1/60sec you are going to capture subject motion blur, and you want their movement to be frozen by the flash at the end of the movement, not the beginning. I really like a little motion blur for parties, it makes people more animated.

The other issue you will have to deal with is mixing flash with ambient in terms of white balance. This might be particularly tricky at a Halloween party if there are 'spooky' lighting colours. But if you're indoors and lights are on, your best bet is probably going to be tungsten white balance with a full cut CTO to balance your flash. Since it's Halloween you might want to experiment with other colours on your flash like green or leaving it ungelled (which, with tungsten white balance will be a strong blue colour). Also, if you're able to get your flash off-camera you could light people's faces from below for a spooky effect ... but don't go nuts with that visual cliché.

That's a bit of a rushed explanation of what I'd do... but there's more than one way to skin a cat. Let me know if you've got any Q's.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that 1/60sec with an 80mm focal length is a recipe for camera shake. Subject motion blur with sharp surroundings is cool. Subject motion blur with blurry surroundings is awful. See how it goes, but you might have to ramp up the shutter and ISO if your hands aren't really steady.

On the other hand, with your Tamron at 17mm you could get some nice wide shots at 1/30sec without too much trouble.

I always leave it on second curtain anyways haha. I like capture the subject at the end of the fram as well. haha. Thanks a lot for the info and advice, I'll be sure to ask more questions if I need some more advice

i just can't believe the OP complain ISO 400 from a somewhat new T1i. especially you are printing 4x6.

i used to own that T1i, i use up to ISO 1600 all the time if i print 4x6, 3200 doesn't look that bad too.

i guess slight noise really bother some photographer. 

Really! Go and get these shots à 800, 1600 or even 3200. You'll be blown by how much ambient light and atmosphere you'll get. I think that this is what you want from those party shots.

This will also use much less flash power and expand your battery's lifetime. Also, your owner's manual tells you that you shouldn't shot more thant 10 or 15 shots in a row at flash full strenght because it can overheat it or change the color of the flash glass cause of the heat... Another reason to put up the iso and open aperture as it requires less flash power and more safety shooting. Canon's flash don't stop by themselves because they're overheating, you have to be careful for that.

I agree with others, shooting in manual at 1/60 to 1/100, wide open to f/4, iso 800 to 3200, flash bounced off 90° or 60° and you will certainly have the results you want. I suggest TTL flash (metering Throught The Lens) and get the benefit of that 9-10ft roof. It will help you have a more diffused light on your subject as you know.

Also, turning your "to much grainy photo" in black and white gives an interesting result too. Kind of old looking photography. Give it a try!

Have a nice time 

OH! LOL I DID COMPLAIN ABOUT PUSHING TO 400. I'm an idiot. Hahaha.
@MK5GTI - I meant pushing it up to 1600 haha. I have no idea what I was thinking when I was typing this out. It was like 2:30am xD

Well I've complained about the noise on my T1i just recently because I have felt the true low noise performance on a 5dmkII. I was just awestruck by the cleaninest of the noise well past 3200. That being said, a lot of my friends shoot with cameras that were made post 7d sensor so they have the benefit of shooting 1600 with no problem. I'm a pixel peeper and I know it's bad :x I agree, images are usable at 1600 on a T1i, but to my eyes it's just my nightmare. I don't like grain unless it's in Black and White (like what you said )

28

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: What is white balance and what's the correct way to use it?

« on: October 26, 2012, 06:45:39 AM »

I'm just trying to find a solution where I can work with what I have, which is my camera and Lightroom.

Thus, I repeat - get a WhiBal or SpyderCube (I like the latter because it also offers deep black and specular highlight references for exposure, but the WhiBal is flat), include it in a picture, shoot RAW, dropper it to set WB in post for the series of shots in the same light.

I'll definitely grab a whibal soon, probably by next week. I've been eyeing certain models but I'm unsure of what to get. That sypdercube looks cute, I'll invest in one so I can play around with it blacks are kind of mt main worry point because I can never understand the true color of black. Not getting it because of looks though I promise. I'll make a post once I do. Neuro, I expect you to be the first reply hahaha. Not really

What about those white

29

Canon General / Re: How to shoot parties (general stuff: birthday, halloween, casual gatherings)

« on: October 26, 2012, 06:38:06 AM »

Well the party is basically a teenager Halloween party. People running around either dressed up to the max, or not even trying haha. The house has a pretty short roof it's probably like 9-10ft? I know if I jumped i'd be able to palm the roof. Big amount of friends, close friends and some strangers coming. It's more gathering of friends. Thing is though, with the dslr being extremely hype, I have a lot of friends who like showing their "fancy/high tech" point and shoot. Of course I won't be shooting all night the party planners emphasized on just getting shots of major events like kareoking, costume contest, and really just shoot as much as I can. Of course there's people I trust with my camera at the party so lending my camera out wont be such a bad thing. Lemme know if you have more questions because I can't really think at the moment it's 3:30am -_-

Also, my friends have already been adjusted to the fact that carry my speedlight because I've proven to them how useful it becomes in certain situations. It's not always on but the house is kind of dimly lit. Like if I shot wide open with my Tammy, I'd be up at like 800iso about 70% of the time.

Oh, forgot to mention. I hate shooting my speed light directly at people's faces so it's always shot up at a 90 degrees, or its bounced off the celling at 45. If i desperately have to, I'll slap on the 6'x8' fotodiox softbox and shoot straight on but at like 1/8 power. does that change your opinion on the subject of the flash?

30

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: What is white balance and what's the correct way to use it?

« on: October 26, 2012, 06:24:05 AM »

Old adage.  Camera 101 time. Get it right in the camera and add the effect in post.

I'm not wishing to patronise the OP, as they asked a worthwhile question in earnest, but I'll happily correct cr@p like 'it's subjective'.

Some (hopefully useful basics)

The camera has not a clue what colour of light the subject is under.  A single colour subject with no reference will confuse a camera set to AWB.

So an Orange will usually come out wrong.  The sea will usually come out wrong.

So you tell the camera what colour temperature of the ambient light is.

You can do this A using the kelvin scale (if your camera supports this, and your confident how many Kelvins match candlelight, shade, sun at midday)

You can do this B using the cameras WB set function (shamefully clumsy on canons, no excuse for it in these days of live view, should be as easy as video manual WB) find a neutral white or grey subject under the same light as your subject (bleached copier paper is usually fine, a paving slab or even magnolia painted wall is close enough)  For deliberately filtered light, say at a rock concert, then the next step may work better...

Or you can C choose a close preset.  This way a deliberately red light appears red as intended... 

YOU SHOULD DO ONE OF THESE STEPS WHETHER YOU SHOOT IN RAW OR JPEG.   RAW CAN CORRECT SO MUCH.  GETTING IT RIGHT IN THE FILE MAKES IT EASIER TO RECOVER.

By all means tweak it in post, to your subjective tastes.  But do try to get it right in camera, or at least close.

Like Mikael I use the QP card, particularly on two / multi camera shoots.  I will filter match my lights and any other light sources, then set up manual WB with a grey card, and then record a test clip with greyscale QP card in vision.

This is probably too much for most, but it is worth reading up a little on colour temperature just so as to understand better what will help your camera and help your images.

At the sensor stage it should be anything but subjective.  Get it right at the camera and you can grade and tweak away.  Get it subjectively wrong at the camera and you may find that it can never quite be recovered.

I would love to have that much control over Kelvin to actually see and get the results I want but being the owner of a consumer dslr the white balance settings are very dumbed down. And the wb shft/brkt was added but made things a little more complicated than it needed to be. I get the chance to play with Kelvin because my camera has MAGICLANTERN installed. But it's too complicated to go through all those menus and adjust on the fly. I was just inquiring about a way to fix wb on the go. I'm not poking fun at you sir, I respect your response because you've given me a larger insight on white balance (along with many users here [thanks guys]), but I don't have the time to climb ladders to adjust my non-existent professional lighting equipment and gels. I don't have a 30'x30 soft box or multiple gels at my disposal. I'm just trying to find a solution where I can work with what I have, which is my camera and Lightroom.