Messages

16

Canon General / Re: Hey, that's a nice photo, you must have an expensive camera

« on: August 26, 2012, 06:49:44 AM »

Don't let it bother you. Like others have said, the majority of people will never appreciate the work that goes into creating 'good' photographs, so don't even bother.

17

EOS Bodies / Re: EOS BODY FOR ARCHITECTURE

« on: August 24, 2012, 06:15:53 AM »

The 63-point autofocus system is unimportant for architectural photography - you will most likely want to use manual focus anyway. A tilt-shift lens is pretty much a requisite for architectural photography, and for building interiors I would recommend the Canon 17mm TS-E and a 5D Mark II. This might be too wide some of the time, so you could attach a 1.4x extender to bring it to 24mm, or use it on a crop body to make it ~"28mm".

Ideally you would want a selection of tilt-shift lenses, but this would prove quite expensive. Another thing worth mentioning is the 17mm TS-E doesn't take screw-in filters, but I know of two companies (Lucroit and more recently Fotodiox) who do make a filter system for this lens.

If you are new to photography some of what I've said might not make sense - if that's the case feel free to ask for clarification.

18

EOS Bodies / Re: EOS 1DX vs. EOS 5D MARK III for Weddings,

« on: August 23, 2012, 04:46:46 AM »

As someone has already pointed out, the silent shutter of the 5D is not to be underestimated. I love it.  It's also a less imposing camera (without the grip), if that suits your style of photography.

The 1D X has better sealing, but I have shot with the 5D III in the rain several times without concern - any environment where the 1D sealing is required is probably an environment where you won't find a bride 

If you abuse your bodies, get the 1D.

19

Lenses / Re: Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM Firmware Available

« on: August 21, 2012, 03:02:13 PM »

Updated without issue. Not trying to rub salt in the wounds of those whose update failed, just pointing out that the majority of people have probably updated without issue. No one complains when things work.

20

Lenses / Re: best filter for shooting portraits (babies)

« on: August 17, 2012, 12:28:41 PM »

Does the shorty-forty not take filters?

It does - has a 52mm thread (that also serves as a mount for the dedicated - and basically useless - lens hood).  But I don't use a filter on it for two reasons.  First, the front element is tiny, and the cost of the lens is low.  Second, amd most importantly, the reason I use the 40/2.8 is for portability - it's a thin enough lens that when mounted on the camera, I can slip the setup into a Lowepro Utility Bag 100 AW, and that can go inside my laptop satchel, etc.  Likewise, when shooting with another lens, the 40/2.8 easily fits in a pocket.  Adding a filter would make it slightly thicker, enough to limit the utility, IMO (the lens protrudes such a short distance from the body than even a 3.4mm XS-Pro filter is a significant proportion of that thickness!).

I actually take this one step further and don't even use a lens cap on the shorty forty. It's such an inexpensive lens that any 'resale' value is meaningless, so I don't even care about the front element (within reason of course). It took a little getting used to, but I've found it strangely liberating to forego that extra .6 of a second in removing the lens cap before shooting. 

21

Landscape / Re: The Ship

« on: August 16, 2012, 09:47:46 AM »

I like this photograph!

However, my personal opinion is that sunsets should have more of a magenta bias. I performed 10 seconds worth of curves adjustment on the green channel to reflect this. Your version is too green for my tastes.

22

Third Party Manufacturers / Re: What to tell a newbie?

« on: August 14, 2012, 02:04:39 PM »

I advised about 3 or 4 people in the last week to buy Nikon, and it really hurt! I still love my Canon gear, but Canon left a deep scar with the delays of the 1D X, the delays in the 5D III and now the EOS 650.

Why did it hurt? Brand loyalty won't improve anyone's photographs. On the other hand I would say there is no clear winner between the 650D and the D3200. The D3200 has more pixels and better DR (the standard 'Nikon advantage' these days) but just 1 of its 11 AF points is a cross-type versus all 9 of the Canon's. Plus a flippy-outy screen and pseudo-video autofocus might be important to a beginner.

Maybe in future you could forego any sense of guilt by telling them that the two/three/four obvious choices are the 650D, D3200 and whatever else, and that they should go to a camera store who will allow them to play with each of these cameras for a bit, to see what fits them best. For a newbie the feel of a camera will be more important than the megapixels or dynamic range - and they might just prefer shooting with the Pentax after all.

23

Speedlites, Printers, Accessories / Re: Is there a cheaper way to buy from "REALLY RIGHT STUFF"

« on: August 13, 2012, 04:49:07 AM »

Wow this thread went a bit trolltastic.

I live in the UK and own a RRS BH-55 ballhead. Import duty is a bitch but it doesn't get much better than this tripod head.

However, the import premium on the RRS tripod legs, in my opinion, is not worth it. Get Gitzo legs instead, like I did, and save yourself perhaps 400 quid. Gitzo legs have been industry leaders for a very long time, you will not be disappointed.

24

5D MK III Sample Images / Re: Recent wedding with 5D Mk iii incl. ISO 12800 images

« on: July 11, 2012, 08:46:39 PM »

Sure. I agree that there is not much spill on the grass and there could maybe be a little bit more.

You misunderstand me - it is quite a striking look and I wouldn't suggest to change it. But it drew me in and I was just intrigued by how it was done.

25

5D MK III Sample Images / Re: Recent wedding with 5D Mk iii incl. ISO 12800 images

« on: July 11, 2012, 02:54:29 PM »

May I ask how you lit the final shot? There seems to be very little light spill onto the grass 

26

Lenses / Re: Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM Information.

« on: July 11, 2012, 02:43:14 PM »

In case anyone was wondering, the EF 40mm f/2.8 Pancake lens is in AF Group D on the 5DIII/1D X, meaning despite the f/2.8 aperture, it activates only the center (1 of 5) high-precision f/2.8 AF points, and also only activates the inner columns (10 of 20) of the f/4-sensitive crosses.

This is interesting news and I'll admit it's curbed my enthusiasm for the shorty forty. I may not pick one up after all.

27

Canon General / Re: Question about buying new 5D Mark III on Ebay

« on: July 06, 2012, 10:47:23 AM »

Isn't the black tape the normal solution they found for the light leak problem?

Yeah, sorry I was being facetious. I'm sure it will be fine.

28

Lenses / Re: Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8L II Delayed Again

« on: July 05, 2012, 09:57:40 AM »

Hmm, will this delay drive the price of the outgoing 24-70 up considerably? I'm starting to consider selling my 24-70 v1 in August if this is the case.

... Then again, probably not.

29

Canon General / Re: Question about buying new 5D Mark III on Ebay

« on: July 04, 2012, 11:06:37 AM »

They might send you one with black tape inside.

30

Lighting / Re: Fauxtographer Ruins Olympic photos.

« on: July 04, 2012, 10:51:54 AM »

It's very easy to criticise these photos from the armchair. Clearly the photog did not have enough time to make decent looking images and has limited experience on posing people (the 'dive' shot, anyone?  ).

I feel sorry for him for the results of this shoot. He was probably rushed off his feet and stressed by people who have unrealistic expectations when someone more experienced/established (somebody mentioned Joe McNally) would probably have answered back along the lines of "Hang on... you're not going to get a portrait from me within 60 seconds."

The photographer probably decided it was better to have tripe than to have nothing. Hopefully he will learn from this assignment and it won't ruin his career too much.