Messages

1

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: dirty 1 DX --- Dirty 5D MKIII --- does Canon have quality control at all?

« on: August 06, 2012, 09:03:22 PM »

Ya, I think it should be replaced if air blow can't get rid of them. It is very annoying to see them in macro shot. I don't like the idea of getting a new camera and have to send it back for cleaning if I am doing macro. It is definitely Canon's quality fault as the sensor should be checked and cleaned with right fluid in clean room.

That is exactly my point.... I can clean it.... But why I have to? After all I paid top dollar for the best of the best they have and now I have to send it icon for service since is stuck to the sensor... And this in not like one going to the car dealer and get another car while the fix your....

just to add to this "dirty" topic I'll share my experience....... it was awfull.

last year I bought a 70-200mm IS II at an Oz wide photo retailer who has an outlet here at my place. I liked that lens but I noticed since It was a perfect match to my 50Ds' AF but problem was I noticed a shining specle at an element inside I guess it was an aluminum dust  so I went back the next day to the shop and ask for a replacement. Luckily they had no more stock so I was sent to their city store to pick up a replacement. In there the guy who entertained me was questioning me why I want it replaced as he was telling me that he cant see any dust and that if ever there is any it wouldn't even affect the photo it would take.

I replied: " I paid $3,000 on this lens and I expect it to be in perfect form"
so I got a new one but it's not that sharp as the other but I lived with it thinking I could just send it for calibration when I get my 5d3 which was at that time was on rumor. hahaha

then just recently I bought a 5D3 on the same store ,coz I want to buy local due to warranty issues, I found lots of dust inside and on the mirror which is very vissible everywhere so I took it back the next day and aske for replacement. The man in charge (maybe he's the manager) confronted me telling me that there is nothing wrong with it he even blew it with a blower and said there is no dust anymore. But I said I'd want a replacement and that's my decision. He was so confronting and by the way he talks to me he's emplying that I don't know how to use a camera. I wanted to smash his face coz I couldnt have turn to talk since I'm not that fluent in talking.  I didn't whateverr hes saying anymore and I just firmly told him "I don't trust that camera anymore and wanted it replaced".... after a week or two I got my replacement.  I never went back to them anymore and never ever recomend them to any of my friend.

anyway the replacement also has specles but only a few on the mirror and tiny compare to the first one which also got some fibers

2

Lighting / Re: Beginer.. Need Speedlite help

« on: July 30, 2012, 09:40:57 AM »

Hi everyone. I have just recently begun to get into photography and I really want to explore portrait and wedding photography. I have a young baby boy and this would be for side work/fun. I need an external flash but cannot afford anything expensive as I am in the process of practicing and learning right now and would not like to try to charge anyone for work for some time. I have a t3i and was looking for an alternative to the canon 430 exII. Looking for suggestion from those who maybe own third party flashes or have used them extensively. Thanks for any help!

same as you I just got into flash photography. my first flash was the YN-565 coupled with sf-18 battery pack this flash is a lot more like a 580 exII it works well with my 50d and 5d3. It does not support HSS but you can get around it by using nd filter if you have them (I got nd4 & nd8). recently I bought a 600ex-rt and luckily my YN-565 also works with the 600ex-rt infact I use the 600ex-rt to opticaly trigger the yn-565. the battery pack and some cheap modifiers works to both flashes so its an advantage as well.


hope this gives you an idea

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EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: 50D to .......?

« on: July 29, 2012, 07:07:02 AM »

Hi,   

I'm the new boy in town, been reading the forum for years but now finally joined.

I have had a 50D since they first came out and love it to bits; however the time has come to get something newer. I use the camera for a wide range of subjects and have a few 'L' lenses. Attached is my Flickr if anyone is looking that closely at my uses.

I read all the Canon propaganda on new cameras such as the 5d mk 3 and the 7d.
Has anyone gone from the 50d to one of these?
Is the jump in technology that much more noticeable?
Is it worth the major investment? (and the week or so of wining and dining my wife before asking for one?)
If any has both and has some free time to show just how much the photos would vary I would be very grateful.

Kind regards, HWTN

I just upgraded from 50D to 5D3 & I can assure you its worth it. I kept my 50D since before I bought the new 5d3 I thought to keep it as a back up. I normally put my 24-105 on the 5d3 and my 70-200 IS II on the 50d for me to avoid switching lenses but most of the times I never get to use the 50d anymore. I have loved my 5d3 that I like to take every shots with it. Now I'm thinkin of selling or giving it to my brother and just buy a cheap FF as a 2nd cam.

4

Third Party Manufacturers / Re: alternative grip

« on: June 22, 2012, 10:28:49 AM »

thanks a lot guys thats a great help as I also have a bg-e2n and if it feels close to it then its fine for me as well...
guell i'll be getting one tomorrow as it is already available here...

5

Third Party Manufacturers / alternative grip

« on: June 14, 2012, 08:15:53 PM »

has anyone recieved their pre ordered the pixel BG-E11? please post some reviews.

6

Lighting / Re: looking for my 1st flash

« on: June 05, 2012, 06:28:50 AM »

cool, i didnt know that about the pixel kings how many did you end up going for?

those sf18 battery packs are great they will go all day without needing a battery change

as of now I just bought 1 flash & a pair of trigger just to see how it goes then if I'd be ok with maybe I'd grab some more.

I tried to do HSS with the yongnou sadly I failed. it will fire but the photo will have a portion covered by the shutter the only worry i have with the flash is the lack of lock on the swivel head I hope it will not become too loose upon usage nonetheless I'm happy with it. my wallet is happy as well 

7

Lighting / Re: looking for my 1st flash

« on: June 04, 2012, 08:53:15 PM »

I hope someone would share me his idea on this one. I'm looking for my my 1st flash, for what type
of shooting? HIGH SPEED SYNC as I'll be doing portraits in bright daylight. I haven't tried one (as i'm not a big fan of flash photography) so I don't have any idea how much power do I need.

Back to the OP. What body are you planning to shoot with? If it's going to be older than a 5D3 or a 1DX then skip the 600EX-RT. On older bodies you'll only get 100th sync and questionable HSS. I'd recommend a pre-owned 580ex or 580exII. These are great for HSS, have the advantage of being amazingly flexible in the ways you can rotate them for bounce flash (more movements than Yonguo or 430ex) and also the distinct advantage of have a plug for an external power source which you will appreciate if HSS becomes your thing. HSS sucks power much much more than regular flash. You can read plenty on this subject here or on Google.

PW

I got a 5d3, 50D & hopefully a 1dx (depending on price & performance compared to 5d3).... yeah I looked for a used 580s & 430s but they are rare in here and I found a couple but priced so much as if they don't wanna sell it. That is why I bought a YN 565exII and a pixel king trigger. this set up is limited to 1/200 shutter speed due to the flash although the trigger is capable of firing at 1/8000 good thing is I have my ND filters to get away with HSS (thanks to pdirestajr). I took the pixel king flash trigger due to its capability of HSS and costs less than the odins.

8

Lighting / Re: looking for my 1st flash

« on: June 03, 2012, 06:28:20 AM »

here you go

if you can handle dealing with carrying around portable powwer supplies (I made my own with a 1000W pure sign wave inverter and 2 sealed lead acid golf buggy batteries in a lowepro 200AW nova bag)

these are seriously good value and awesome studio flash heads

this will fire those flash heads at any power setting you like at any shutter speed up to 1/8000 sec
if your intention is to dominate the midday sun this has way more grunt than trying to do it with speedlights

i have tested this out and mix the flash up with speedlights too, only wierd glitch i have found is when mixing the elinchrom and speedlights the light seem out of sync at 1/250 second all other shutter speeds are fine
I've tested this with 5Dmk2 5Dmk3 and 1Dmk3

the yongnuo does not have canon HSS and the nissin 866i that paul recomended does
for me the nissin is too close in price to the 430exii so i would just go the 430exii instead

i am considerig buying a yongnuo 565 to test with my odins since they are only $150 and have all the same functions as a 580 except HSS its pretty good value if they work

At the moment, I end up getting yongnou 565ex+ sf18 battery pack & pixel king wireless trigger set.

the yn-565 is very close to canon 580 exII aside from the fact that the swivel head doesn't have locks, recycle time is a bit longer and the hot shoe attachment is not a quick release as well somewhat minor differences and performance is pretty close to match the 580 except for the HSS.

I went with the pixel king since its functions are similar to phottix odin except that it has no LCD performance wise I'm happy with it the only sad part was the battery cover is so flimsy not a big deal unless it will get lost while shooting

I haven't fully tested  them on actual shooting  but I hope they will perform as I expected.

9

Lighting / Re: looking for my 1st flash

« on: May 21, 2012, 10:25:30 AM »

Presumably you're going to be shooting wide open with fast primes @ 1/1000s or faster because as you say you'll be shooting outdoors (daylight) and primarily portraits, so really shallow DOF, but you said which camera you intend to use but not what glass you already have. The reason I say this is that if you have a zoom lens like a 70-200mm f2.8L II IS USM already, then you can achieve a similar look @f2.8 (from a distance) as you'd get from say a typical portrait lens at f2 or even f1.4 (up close).

If it was my 1st flash I'd be looking to try cheaper alternatives like the 430EXII or the YN-565EX to see what the real-world limitations are, and if those don't work out, then opt or the flagship canon models. Personally I use a couple of Yongnuo YN-565EX's mounted on stands shooting through white umbrellas and my 7D triggers them up to 1/300s and like the 580EXII's the power setting is adjustable from 1/128 up to 1/1 in one-third increments.

Many Pro's shooting e.g. fashion outdoors/indoors now use long lenses. Otherwise, if your lens collection is mainly short-zooms or primes and your budget is tight (having just spent a lot on a 5D3) then you might want to consider continuous lighting options (can be quite inexpensive).

But the real advantage of avoiding HSS and going with 3rd-party flashguns for the time-being is, that you can buy 3 or 4 YN-565's for the price of 1 x 580XII....then you have Key Light, Fill Light, Back-Light & Hair-Light options that multiple speedlights give you.

that's a very good point THANK YOU! I have 70-200mm IS II, 24-105, 60mm macro & 50mm1.8

What is your purpose of high speed sync? Is it really needed with outdoor portraits?

If it is because you want to use wide apertures for artistic effect, which will kick your shutter speed way up in outdoor light, and that is the only real issue, why not just use an ND filter?

That will allow you to control the DOF and ambient light without the need for hss.

thanks dude ! you've just reminded me of my other gears and yes you're right I always shoot with wide aperture on portraits. I'll be trying a combination of both ND filter + flash & I'll see where it will lead me hopefully I could borrow some flashes from my mates to test it with.

10

Lighting / Re: looking for my 1st flash

« on: May 18, 2012, 11:09:37 PM »

here you go

if you can handle dealing with carrying around portable powwer supplies (I made my own with a 1000W pure sign wave inverter and 2 sealed lead acid golf buggy batteries in a lowepro 200AW nova bag)

these are seriously good value and awesome studio flash heads
http://www.proworld.com.au/elinchrom-d-lite-it-4-to-go-set-01-20805?gclid=CNbFiMX1iLACFUZNpgodgT9POg

this will fire those flash heads at any power setting you like at any shutter speed up to 1/8000 sec
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Phottix-Odin-TTL-Flash-Trigger-2-Receiver-fr-Canon-F351-/400236365549?pt=AU_Cameras_Photographic_Accessories&hash=item5d2ff246ed

if your intention is to dominate the midday sun this has way more grunt than trying to do it with speedlights

i have tested this out and mix the flash up with speedlights too, only wierd glitch i have found is when mixing the elinchrom and speedlights the light seem out of sync at 1/250 second all other shutter speeds are fine
I've tested this with 5Dmk2 5Dmk3 and 1Dmk3

the yongnuo does not have canon HSS and the nissin 866i that paul recomended does
for me the nissin is too close in price to the 430exii so i would just go the 430exii instead

i am considerig buying a yongnuo 565 to test with my odins since they are only $150 and have all the same functions as a 580 except HSS its pretty good value if they work

thanks wickid!! you're a true gem on this forum by testing a lot of stuff and sharing the results to us.

I'm glad you mention those elinchrom, they look good(price & feature wise) but does HSS work with skyport speed trigger?

11

Lighting / Re: looking for my 1st flash

« on: May 18, 2012, 10:35:51 PM »

I have a Nissin 866mkII flash, and am very happy with it.  Matched to my 7D, it produces great results. 

It's got good power (slightly more than the Canon 580EXII). The user interface took a bit of getting used to, but now that I'm more familiar with it - find it very user friendly.

The LCD screen is better than the Canon LCD screens, imho - especially when working in low light! Plus it has a sub-flash, and construction quality is professional. 

The 7D flash menu can be used for various (including most advanced) functions, OR the 866mkII in-built menu can be used. Note - the Nissin 866 (mkI) works with a 7D, but not all the advanced functions, eg wireless, etc.

I bought the Nissin 866mkII at half the price of the Canon 580EXII! So from that angle, I highly recommend it too. 

Paul

thanks for sharing your thought.. I'd be happier if these can be fired at HSS and lastly they're only available online from other countries.

12

Lighting / Re: looking for my 1st flash

« on: May 17, 2012, 08:54:28 PM »

Budget? That's really the big question, because everything about the shooting depends on the exact lighting situations. Sometimes a simple 430EX2 will be enough, sometimes you'd need more.

If your budget is unlimited, it's easy - just go get a 600EX-RT.

If you don't want to spend $600+ on one Speedlite, then you can either go with a 430EX2 or 580EX2, or you could look at 3rd party E-TTL-compatible speedlites.

I've become a fan of Yongnuo, and they make the YN-565EX that looks very similar in specs (and appearance) to the 580EX2, except it's only around $150. I believe that Sunpak, Vivitar, etc. also make E-TTL-compatible flashes for cheaper than what Canon Speedlites cost. In the long run, third party flashes probably aren't as well-made or reliable as Canon's, but in the short-term they'll probably do a comparable job, and it's a smaller investment to find out if E-TTL flashes will help your style of photography.

600RT is too expensive for me at this time as I just bought a 5d3 that's why i'm looking into 580 ex2 but these are rare at the moment here in Oz don't know if the stock was depleted or just being kept to boost sales of the 600RT. I saw the yongnou 565 but I don't know if I could fire that at high speeds. Considering the price of 600rt, I could already get a studio flashhead from that amount but still I don't know if I could use those flashheads on high speeds as well that's why I seek your expertise on these matter.

thanks

if you are planning on using the cannon hss then you are going to need more than one flash as hss drops the power outpout considerably then you have to factor in more power loss for your defuser you need 2 or 3 set up as a ganglight

I use one of these
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/3-Head-Triple-Hot-Shoe-Mount-Adapter-3-in-1-Flash-Light-Bracket-Umbrella-Holder-/221002921751?pt=AU_Flashes&hash=item3374ccf717
on a stand with a 40" shoot through umbrella

Also as i have mentioned previously the phottix odins will allow flashes to fire at full power at anywhere up to 1/8000 sec even studio monolights!

13

Lighting / looking for my 1st flash

« on: May 17, 2012, 10:00:50 AM »

good day!

I hope someone would share me his idea on this one. I'm looking for my my 1st flash, for what type
of shooting? HIGH SPEED SYNC as I'll be doing portraits in bright daylight. I haven't tried one (as i'm not a big fan of flash photography) so I don't have any idea how much power do I need.

thanks for your help!

14

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Hardware or Firmware limitation?

« on: May 13, 2012, 07:59:58 PM »

Some features, like adding exposure compensation in the manual mode almost certainly can be done in firmware.  Basically, most of the camera hardware is controlled by firmware and so the controls can be updated.  You can't change things locked into the physical design like the light leak by firmware. Thats why they stopped deliveries and added the light blocking tape.

I don't understand why the exposure compensation doesn't work on manual mode and if ir could be added thru firmware why dont they do it? I'm sure there are a lot of folks like me who is very much annoyed by not having exposure compensation on manual mode. It upsets me when I'm trying to make a good exposure and you can't control the exposure as it has a mind of its own. sometimes I want to smash my 50D since its got a mind of its own. I do shoot only in manual mode and in low light situations I bump up the ISO but the exposure automaticaly compensates making it a little underexposed. And to top it all AE lock don't work in manual mode. HOW IS THAT? WHY? [/size]

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EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: The 5D Mark III Fix

« on: May 02, 2012, 08:06:32 PM »

those are not ordinary tapes they are anti-static insulating materials only used by semi-con indstries making high-end electronic stuffs.