Topics

1

Speedlites, Printers, Accessories / PocketWizard BETA w/ 5D3 Support is Here!

« on: August 31, 2012, 04:39:53 PM »

PocketWizard fans REJOICE!!!

http://www.pocketwizard.com/support/downloads/beta

They've dropped the beta firmware for their Mini/Flex units with 5D3 support!

2

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Battery Drain on Pixel Vertax Grip for 5D3?

« on: July 21, 2012, 01:29:13 PM »

Can anyone comment/report on battery drain issues on their Pixel Vertax BG-E11 battery grip for the 5D3?  I charged up 4 LP-E6's last week (all official, no knockoffs) and put them in my 7D and 5D3 grips (attached to their respective bodies).  They sat stored in the cameras inside a bag for 7-8 days.  Then last night I had a gig; I pull out the 5D3 and the battery level had only 2-bars, and quickly dropped to 1-bar. 

Both the 5D3 body and the grip were switched OFF while in storage.  The grip was also OFF during my shoot, as I was doing landscape orientation shots.  Within 45 minutes of shooting I had to swap batteries as they were fully drained.  I pulled out the 7D, turned it on, and it was fully charged.  I swapped the batteries into my 5D3, and it too showed a full charge. 

I completed the gig with no issues, but this really got me worried that the Vertax grip has a battery drain.  I'm doing a controlled test this week with fresh batteries to see what happens after a few days of storage.

Has anyone else noticed this battery drain issue or done any tests? 

3

EOS Bodies - For Stills / BG-E11 ... available anywhere reputable?

« on: June 11, 2012, 12:31:46 AM »

I'm looking to snag a BG-E11, but the big guys all seem to be sold out (Adorama, BH, Amazon, etc.).  There are a bunch of random shops that claim to have it in stock - but I've never dealt with any of them, and the majority seem to have hit-or-miss experiences in their Google reviews.

Should I trust these small guys, or wait for the big names to get more stock in?

4

Lighting / Portable Continuous Light for Front Fill - Suggestions?

« on: June 03, 2012, 02:20:21 PM »

I saw a photographer gigging a location last night with some clients.  It was dusk, sun was on the horizon and losing intensity quickly... he was using it as a backlight/kicker, but instead of a front-fill flash, he had an assistant using a small hand-held/portable continuous light that he had gelled over.  It looked like it even had mini barn doors on it.  the entire apparatus didn't appear to be bigger than a large apple.

Any ideas as to what he was using?  I'd love to try out the technique!

5

EOS Bodies - For Stills / 5D3 - ERR 80 ?

« on: May 14, 2012, 09:17:37 AM »

Got an error 80 during a shoot last night.  Camera totally froze... fixed it by popping the battery.  Anyone seen this one yet, or know what the cause of it is?

Thanks.

6

Lighting / Gelling for Tungsten at Indoor Events?

« on: April 20, 2012, 02:27:46 PM »

How many of you gel your speedlites to match ambient lighting at indoor event shoots?

I normally do not gel at events, but then again my past event work has typically been in low-light environments where ambient lighting isn't an issue.  However, I shot an event in a ballroom the other day, and the results look hideously "point-and-shoot"-ish.  Meaning, the people are all balanced to flash, but the background is that hideous orange tungsten glow.  To make matters worse, the walls were all wallpapered a deep yellow-ish orange hue, so the contrast in color balance is extremely obvious, and makes the photos look atrociously amateur. 

I started painting in a white balance correction in Lightroom on the background, but then realized I didn't have the time to do it on 200 photos.  I'm chalking this up as a lesson learned, and if I had to do it again I'd definitely gel with a CTO correction.  Do many of you do this in environments with heavy tungsten lighting?

7

EOS Bodies / Canon Launches 60Da

« on: April 03, 2012, 01:20:38 AM »

Better IR sensitivity for astrophotography...

 http://www.adorama.com/ICA60DA.html?emailprice=t&j=Email040312Canon&utm_term=Other&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Email040312Canon&utm_source=ET

8

Street & City / The Rossonian Hotel, Denver

« on: March 30, 2012, 02:18:56 PM »

Decided to take out my 5D3 this morning to try my first "little world" photo.  I used the Rossonian Hotel here in Five Points as my primary subject.  It's hardly perfect, but going through the process will help me improve my future "little world" shots..

9

EOS Bodies / Canon Prepping a High MP Killer?

« on: March 28, 2012, 10:35:35 PM »

I've been getting into some friendly D800 vs. 5D3 battles with other shooters lately, and at first I really thought Canon dropped the ball with the 5D3.  But with a look at Canon's recent product launches, and rumors of what's to come, I'm now of the mindset that Canon has some insanely high MP body on the very near hoizon.  Hear me out...

• Canon launches the 7D three years ago at 18MP ... an equivalent pixel density of 47MP on a full frame sensor.
• Canon debuts their 120MP APS-H sensor in 2010
• Canon starts releasing Mark II lens updates that clearly outresolve the capabilities of its current sensors (e.g., 70-200 II and 24-70 II)
• Canon launches a 5D3 at 22MP - intentionally lower than the 36MP Nikon competition

With the pixel density of the 7D, Canon clearly has been working hard on high MP tech.  And with the list above I read between the lines to see Canon saying --- "We're working on something with huge MP... we now have the glass and sensor tech to do it, we just wanted to see what Nikon did first."  As market leader, Canon can afford the luxury of letting Nikon go high MP first.  I mean, why not?  They may lose a little market share, but they know they'll still be on top.  The 5D3 allows them to remain competitive while taking the time to tear down the D800, and develop a quick response ... that's even better.

Maybe I'm crazy, but I see something huge on the horizon.  Maybe 40MP+ and possibly by the end of the year.  Anyone else think this is a viable approach?  Or have I lost my mind?

10

EOS Bodies / BG-E11 Street Date / Availability?

« on: March 27, 2012, 01:50:39 AM »

Has anyone seen/heard anything regarding the release/shipping date for the BG-E11 battery grip?  It seems all the major e-tailers have them available for "pre-order", but not in stock.  I'm pretty hardcore about shooting with grips - my big paws just aren't comfortable with the stand-alone body.  I'm dying here!

 

11

Technical Support / Building a Studio Cyc...

« on: March 25, 2012, 08:38:30 PM »

Looking to put a cyclorama in my studio space... I've got the walls and corners figured out, but am having an issue with the floor.  It seems that most studios use leveler and sealant to get the smooth finish.  Unfortunately, I'm dealing with a wood floor - and I am worried about grain and lines appearing even with numerous coats of paint.

I have space to do some type of framing and custom build up.  Any thoughts/recommendations for surface material to get a smooth floor?

Thanks in advance!

12

5D MK III Sample Images / 5D3's First Engagement Shoot...

« on: March 22, 2012, 02:12:51 AM »

Picked her up at noon, shot with her at 5:30 (still have lots to learn about the menu-ing system).  However, I can say the ISOs really are amazing, and I can report that she works just fine with PocketWizard FlexTT5s...

(pardon all the post work - trying out some new presets I've been toying with in LR4)

13

EOS Bodies - For Stills / 5DIII and LR4

« on: March 21, 2012, 10:34:56 PM »

Just finished a gig with the 5D3, and lo and behold - there is no LR4 support for the 5D3 RAW files.

Any suggestions?

14

Lenses / Imported vs. USA Lenses?

« on: March 19, 2012, 11:15:34 AM »

Looking at B&H Photo's site, I see they sometimes have two versions of a lens listed; a USA model and an "imported" version that is usually a little cheaper.

What is the difference between the two?

15

EOS Bodies / Amazon Bestsellers and 5D3

« on: March 12, 2012, 05:17:01 PM »

Saw over on Nikon Rumors that the d800 is 10th on Amazon's Bestsellers list.  At the time of the post, they claimed the 5D3 was 83rd.  But now - I don't even see it in the top 100...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/electronics/?ie=UTF8&tag=nikorumo-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=390957#1

It's also #1 in the separate dSLR category :: http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/photo/?ie=UTF8&tag=nikorumo-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=390957#1

wtf?