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Animal Kingdom / Re: Show your Bird Portraits
« on: April 28, 2013, 11:11:22 PM »
Great Blue Heron
May 25, 2013, 01:11:24 AM
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Software & Accessories / Re: Backpack Suggestion
« on: February 28, 2013, 03:17:04 PM »+1 on the F-stop Loka.
Lot's of versatility because of the different sized ICU's (inserts) that can be placed within. And, FWIW, I've carried this in some pretty harsh terrain / environments and can attest to the comfort with a load.
I also have a Kata 3-n-1. It works well but cannot carry as much nor is it as comfortable if you are carrying all day.
x2 on the Loka, that's what I use. Awesome bag.
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Software & Accessories / Re: Good GND filter to go with new Lee system
« on: February 28, 2013, 03:12:41 PM »
Personally I wouldn't waste your time with a 1-stop GND filter.
I have the Lee 2-stop and 3-stop in both hard and soft edge. My most used for landscapes are the 3-stop, which is why when I decided to get a reverse GND filter I bought the 3-stop (in that specific case Singh-Ray).
The Lee resin filters are good and at ~$100 each a lot cheaper than the glass ones.
If I were only buying one GND filter it would definitely be the 3-stop. Hard or soft edge depends on whether the bulk of your shots have an object in the foreground extending into the sky or not (like trees).
I have the Lee 2-stop and 3-stop in both hard and soft edge. My most used for landscapes are the 3-stop, which is why when I decided to get a reverse GND filter I bought the 3-stop (in that specific case Singh-Ray).
The Lee resin filters are good and at ~$100 each a lot cheaper than the glass ones.
If I were only buying one GND filter it would definitely be the 3-stop. Hard or soft edge depends on whether the bulk of your shots have an object in the foreground extending into the sky or not (like trees).
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EOS Bodies / Re: need an upgrade from 40d, can't decide: 5D 3, 70D (when available), 7D?
« on: February 10, 2013, 12:54:38 AM »
I went from a 40D to a 5DIII and couldn't be happier. I wanted the full frame though so it was a relatively easy decision for me.
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EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: I love big gear
« on: January 29, 2013, 07:56:50 AM »I've been thinking about getting a proper rucksack camera bag for a while now. I've had a Billingham 335 for about 17 years now but I don't use it as it is too conspicuous to carry around.
For this reason, I've been using an old sports rucksack with a sweater in it for padding. It's not ideal, but at least it doesn't advertise its contents.
The Lowepro bags seem the least like they advertise what's in the bag, but is there anything that really doesn't look like a camera bag at all out there?
Totally agree. Packing thousands of dollars worth of heavy camera gear in a dedicated photo backpack only seems to accomplish two things...
- Advertise a lot of expensive camera gear is here
- Guarantee that you'll be doing nothing other than shooting pictures since there is no room for anything else
I typically use normal daypacks or backpacks and put the camera gear in individual protection, whatever that might be. Lens cases, fleece jackets, clothes for the hike, whatever. I need a backpack that is a backpack, not a lens case with straps. I'm almost always doing more on the trip than just taking pictures and I hate advertising that I'm carrying even more equipment as expensive as the camera I have in my hand.
Get yourself an F-Stop Mountain Series bag and pick your preferred size of ICU (you'll know what an ICU is when you look at their website). I love my Loka, it doesn't look like a camera bag, and with a Medium Pro ICU I have lots of room for other gear.
http://fstopgear.com/product/mountain
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Lenses / Re: What nd filter density (combinations) do you use?
« on: January 24, 2013, 09:32:02 AM »
For blurring clouds/people I would go with the darkest you can find. I have the Hoya ND400 (approximately 9 stops) and the Lee Big Stopper (10 stops). Since I have the Lee system I will sometimes stack a 3 stop with the Lee Big Stopper for 13 stops.
My screw in filters are all 77mm but I have a 67mm, 77mm, and 82mm ring for the Lee system so I usually end up using my Lee filters first.
My screw in filters are all 77mm but I have a 67mm, 77mm, and 82mm ring for the Lee system so I usually end up using my Lee filters first.
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Animal Kingdom / Re: Show your Bird Portraits
« on: January 09, 2013, 10:08:04 AM »Intriguing ... the LR shot has noise while the DPP does not
Ya I don't see any noise in the new version
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Animal Kingdom / Re: Show your Bird Portraits
« on: January 09, 2013, 08:30:25 AM »I'm getting pretty wierd noise in the photographs when I use Mozilla ... there is no noise in the shots on my desktop and neither when the page is loaded in Google Chrome .... why would that be ... help!
Lots of noise in Internet Explorer 9.
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EOS Bodies / Re: 5D Mark iii ai-servo
« on: January 07, 2013, 09:47:09 AM »
Check your AI Servo Priority setting. Looks like you could have it set to Release/Speed Priority rather than Focus Priority or Equal Priority.
Explanation here:
http://learn.usa.canon.com/resources/articles/2011/1dx_af_config_article.htmlp
AI Servo 1st image priority:
When starting to follow-focus a moving subject with AI Servo AF, if the user fully presses down on the shutter button immediately after starting to focus, what will the camera do?
Equal Priority: Camera allows a bit of time before firing first shot in a sequence, to give AF system a bit of "cushion" to focus completely on subject. This setting is new on EOS cameras.
Release Priority: Camera gives "priority" to releasing shutter – camera will fire virtually instantly, even if AF system hasn't fully locked-on to subject. News and wire-service shooters, who often are more concerned with the "decisive moment" than absolute tack-sharp images, may prefer this setting.
Focus Priority: Camera gives "priority" to assuring sharp focus – when trying to focus and shoot quickly, shutter release may be delayed for a perceptible moment while AF system confirms that first shot will be sharp.
AI Servo 2nd image priority:
This concerns what happens when the user tries to shoot a sequence of two or more continuous pictures of a moving subject with AI Servo AF. For the 2nd and all subsequent shots in that sequence, does the camera try to shoot as fast as it possibly can – even if this means a few frames may not be tack-sharp – or will it slow down the fps rate as needed to allow the AF system to confirm that virtually all frames in a sequence are as sharp as they can be?
Equal Priority: The EOS-1D X and 5D Mark III give equal priority to maintaining fps shooting speed, while allowing time for AF. In extremely dim conditions or with very difficult-to-focus subjects, shooting speed may slow down.
Speed Priority: Camera gives priority to maintaining fps shooting speed, even if it means the AF system may not have fully confirmed sharp focus for every frame in a sequence. Again, for example, capturing the moment may be more important for a traditional news shooter than having each and every frame tack-sharp in a high-speed sequence.
Focus Priority: During continuous shooting with focus-tracking in AI Servo AF, the camera gives priority to assuring sharpest possible focus for all frames in a sequence, and will readily slow-down the fps rate if necessary to allow this.
Explanation here:
http://learn.usa.canon.com/resources/articles/2011/1dx_af_config_article.htmlp
AI Servo 1st image priority:
When starting to follow-focus a moving subject with AI Servo AF, if the user fully presses down on the shutter button immediately after starting to focus, what will the camera do?
Equal Priority: Camera allows a bit of time before firing first shot in a sequence, to give AF system a bit of "cushion" to focus completely on subject. This setting is new on EOS cameras.
Release Priority: Camera gives "priority" to releasing shutter – camera will fire virtually instantly, even if AF system hasn't fully locked-on to subject. News and wire-service shooters, who often are more concerned with the "decisive moment" than absolute tack-sharp images, may prefer this setting.
Focus Priority: Camera gives "priority" to assuring sharp focus – when trying to focus and shoot quickly, shutter release may be delayed for a perceptible moment while AF system confirms that first shot will be sharp.
AI Servo 2nd image priority:
This concerns what happens when the user tries to shoot a sequence of two or more continuous pictures of a moving subject with AI Servo AF. For the 2nd and all subsequent shots in that sequence, does the camera try to shoot as fast as it possibly can – even if this means a few frames may not be tack-sharp – or will it slow down the fps rate as needed to allow the AF system to confirm that virtually all frames in a sequence are as sharp as they can be?
Equal Priority: The EOS-1D X and 5D Mark III give equal priority to maintaining fps shooting speed, while allowing time for AF. In extremely dim conditions or with very difficult-to-focus subjects, shooting speed may slow down.
Speed Priority: Camera gives priority to maintaining fps shooting speed, even if it means the AF system may not have fully confirmed sharp focus for every frame in a sequence. Again, for example, capturing the moment may be more important for a traditional news shooter than having each and every frame tack-sharp in a high-speed sequence.
Focus Priority: During continuous shooting with focus-tracking in AI Servo AF, the camera gives priority to assuring sharpest possible focus for all frames in a sequence, and will readily slow-down the fps rate if necessary to allow this.
some samples
http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/2241/test1tff.jpg
http://img547.imageshack.us/img547/9121/test2p.jpg
http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/7719/test3xr.jpg
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EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: What photo/video gear did Santa bring you this year?
« on: December 26, 2012, 04:06:19 PM »
F-Stop Gear Loka backpack and Pro Medium ICU.
F-Stop bags are AWESOME.
F-Stop bags are AWESOME.
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Animal Kingdom / Re: Show your Bird Portraits
« on: December 21, 2012, 09:01:55 AM »Pyrrhuloxia. EOS 7D, 100-400 4-5.6 L IS, hand held, ISO 320 cropped in PhotoShop, white balance adjusted slightly to account for low late afternoon sunlight.
How did you do the sharpening? I can see an outline all the way around the bird that is much noisier than the rest of the picture, I presume that's from whatever sharpening technique you used.
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Animal Kingdom / Re: Show your Bird Portraits
« on: December 07, 2012, 08:40:54 AM »i don't know if this qualifies as a bird portrait, but here it is anyway. Canada Geese on Derwent Water in the English Lake District
I really like this shot, looks great in B&W.
Well done!
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Software & Accessories / Re: Lessons Learned - Landscape Photography Necessitities
« on: November 26, 2012, 07:13:05 PM »Is there a need for ND filters if you bracket your exposures and use photoshop to blend in the correct exposures? I took a course at Maine Multimedia this summer and my instructor said she quit using ND graduated filters and used photoshop with multiple exposures.
Part of the answer is what you enjoy doing. For me I enjoy getting the exposure correct when I take the picture, for others they enjoy doing it in post processing. I am doing more post processing than I used to do, and recently purchased Photoshop. I suspect I'll end up doing some filter effects in Photoshop once I know how but I don't think it will end up replacing my filters since I like to do it in the field.
Personally I have the Lee system:
1x Foundation kit
1x Upgrade kit
**the above two together are equivalent to the Professional kit**
1x each of .6 / .9 Soft Edge ND
1x each of .6 / .9 Hard Edge ND
1x Big Stopper
1x Filter pouch
1x Singh Ray LB Warming Circular Polarizer (fits in the Lee holder)
Yes it is costly but I am happy with the pictures I can produce in the field.
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Third Party Manufacturers / Re: Nikon Sales Rising
« on: November 07, 2012, 08:45:45 AM »
Whenever I head out to the mountains (Banff, Lake Louise), I tend to see the tourists sporting shiny new Nikon bodies with only the odd Canon thrown in. I always find that interesting.
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Animal Kingdom / Re: Show your Bird Portraits
« on: November 06, 2012, 06:16:09 PM »A bit boring, but here is a photo of two seagulls at Portsea in Australia. I used a Canon 5D MIII with 24-105mm f/4 L.
Here's your picture with the exposure dropped by one stop