Messages

61

EOS Bodies / Re: Announcements Before Photokina

« on: September 05, 2012, 07:32:53 PM »

It's really bad, been saving my cash for this Fall for the latest and greatest new body, preferably a 7d successor.  Looks like I'll have to spend my money elsewhere. 

62

Landscape / Re: ND Filters - Solid or Graduated

« on: August 25, 2012, 08:36:49 PM »

I'm in the market for filters. Really want Lee's, but the availability is not there. Not sure I want to invest in a product that is not readily available. From what I have read it has been like that for years. They have had months to increase production but it appears they havn't done near enough to keep up. The wait is 6 months in the places I have checked. Looking at other alternatives.

63

Animal Kingdom / Re: My first attempt at stop action (hummingbirds)

« on: August 21, 2012, 09:54:26 PM »

They are fun to shoot.  I've shot hundreds of pics of them this year.  Here is a tip for you to catch one in a natural environment. Find a flower that they like such as a basket of petunias and hang it close to the feeder.  Then when you get ready to shoot, mix up some of their food and put it in a spray bottle.  Lightly spray the inside of several of the flowers on the plant.  Trust me they will find the "nectar" that you added to the flowers.  It may take some patience but you can get some great shots this way. 

Thie pic I attached was with my 5d MkIII, 100-400L lens. Shot at 400mm, 1/640 sec @f/8.0, ISO 400. The picture is cropped to about half of its original size.

I use 9 point on most unless I can get them to hover in one spot for a few seconds.  On this particular picture I'm pretty sure that I had it on single point focused right on the eye.  One thing that makes them tough to get with the 9 point while they are in the air is that the autofocus sometimes gets confused because of those wings that are moving so fast.  It doesn't know what to focus on.  I've spent hours and hours shooting them and I have learned different things along the way.

Mine is with a 5D3, 70-200 IS II at 200mm, 1/2000 sec F3.5, ISO1000..  It is cropped at around 1/6 the size (sorta.. it is very cropped)

What kind of autofocus do you use? I was using 9 point zone AF in AI Servo but it was hard most of my shots were out of focus, and the hummingbirds would move so fast...

All point AF was impossible, it was supposed to start with the single center point and start tracking from there.. but it would, just, not, pick up the bird...

I was also using the "case 5" AF.. for erratic subjects moving quickly in any direction.

64

Animal Kingdom / Re: My first attempt at stop action (hummingbirds)

« on: August 21, 2012, 09:48:23 PM »

yeah Im really thinking I want a 100-400

I really like my 100-400 and have got some really good shots over the last couple of years since I bought it.  Some people don't like the push-pull zoom of the lens, but it doesn't bother me.

65

Animal Kingdom / Re: My first attempt at stop action (hummingbirds)

« on: August 21, 2012, 08:48:45 PM »

They are fun to shoot.  I've shot hundreds of pics of them this year.  Here is a tip for you to catch one in a natural environment. Find a flower that they like such as a basket of petunias and hang it close to the feeder.  Then when you get ready to shoot, mix up some of their food and put it in a spray bottle.  Lightly spray the inside of several of the flowers on the plant.  Trust me they will find the "nectar" that you added to the flowers.  It may take some patience but you can get some great shots this way. 

Thie pic I attached was with my 5d MkIII, 100-400L lens. Shot at 400mm, 1/640 sec @f/8.0, ISO 400. The picture is cropped to about half of its original size.

66

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: AF Point Selection Oddity on 5D MkIII with 100mm Macro

« on: August 18, 2012, 05:05:01 PM »

To all, don't read this post, it is extremely difficult to even understand, let put into practice. Instead, go take pictures!

67

Lenses / Re: Choice for a landscape lens

« on: August 16, 2012, 05:15:13 PM »

Thanks averybody for your comments.  I am leaning toward a TSE lens, most likely the 24mm as filters will be easier to use on it.  I've not used a TSE before; however, I like the ability to control the DOF, even at wide open in some cases.  I'll just have to learn how to use it!  Hopefully the learning curve is not too bad. 

I know that there are many options regarding lens use in landscape work.  I've used my 24 to 105 quite a bit.  I've also used my 100mm vertically before on a tripod and stitched the shots together which worked well too.  The only drawback with those is the monster file sizes at times. I had one last year that was over a GB!

68

Lenses / Choice for a landscape lens

« on: August 15, 2012, 10:25:12 PM »

I'm in the market for a landscape lens. The widest lens I have now is the short end of my 24-105.  I'm shooting with a 5d Mk III. What lens would you buy and why?  Cost is not an issue.  Thanks in advance for your input.

69

Lighting / Flash used at night time racing events

« on: August 14, 2012, 05:14:59 PM »

I recently attended the "Knoxville Nationals" which is the Superbowl of dirt Sprint Car auto racing.  I noted several photographers on the infield that were taking pictures of the cars as they came into and slid through the corners.  They appeared to be using DSLR's with a big bracket mounted flash of some type.  The flash had a large reflector on it, probably at least 12" in diameter.  Does anyone know what type of flash units that these guys are using?  There were probably at least a dozen photographers with them at different points around the track.  Thanks.

70

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: 1Dx Err 80 is only the beginning

« on: August 12, 2012, 03:32:29 PM »

I report the error 80 five month ago but no firmware update came up.

There are futher errors that are not fixed.

That´s the fact.

Canon. You are going to loose customers.

I just wish people would learn how to spell the word "lose." Your brain must be loose.

71

Pricewatch Deals / Re: Big Lexar Memory Card Deals at B&H

« on: August 02, 2012, 04:51:01 PM »

I was going to replace all of my SanDisk Extreme Pro cards with these Pro cards from Lexar but my local camera dealer told me that because their is some behind the scenes conflict between Canon and Lexar that Canon does not support their cards and that they may not work in my cameras. Anyone have any information on this or know if there is any truth to it?

I bought two of the 400x a few days ago and I have had no issues with them in my 5d Mk III. Probably shot 300-400 pictures on them with downloads through a lexar USB 3.0 card reader.

72

Pricewatch Deals / Re: Big Lexar Memory Card Deals at B&H

« on: August 02, 2012, 04:46:50 PM »

Same deals at Adorama(some were actually a little cheaper at Adorama). Of course I just bought 2 of them 10 days ago!  But, alas, an e-mail to Adorama and the difference was given back to me as store credit.

73

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Lovin' my 5d Mark III

« on: July 27, 2012, 08:52:07 PM »

I sold my 7D after I had the 5D mkiii for a month, I simply stopped using it. The reason I bought the 7D was for focus and general shooting speed. I used it every time I thought the focus system of the 5D mkII wouldn't cut it. The 7D is a great camera, but doesn't match the iq of the 5D mkiii at any setting, or the focus system for that matter.

Great isn't it?  I have attached another image that I could never even have dreamed of with my 40d.  It was shot with a 100-400L, 1/400 sec @ f/7.1, with an ISO of 10,000!  And the amazing thing is that this shot is cropped down to less than 1.5 MP.  Sure there is noise but wow, no way with a 40d or a 7d.

74

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Lovin' my 5d Mark III

« on: July 27, 2012, 04:30:24 PM »

I have had my mark III for about two weeks now and have been shooting a lot of hummingbird and macro shots.  My previous camera was a 40d which I thought took excellent pictures.... that is until now!  While I still think it takes great pictures, the 5d is just amazing.  I was really worried about losing the crop factor for some pics, especially the birds.  However, the Mark III more than makes up for this with it's low light capability and the substantial bump in resolution.  I have been amazed at how much I can crop some of my full frame pics and they remain excellent. I am getting shots now that I never dreamed of with the 40d, and the 61 point autofocus, don't even get me started on how much I already love that!  Anyone with a crop body that has concerns about upgrading and losing the crop factor, don't worry about it if you upgrade to the Mark III.  I can't pick up my 40d anymore, it just can't compare. I was going to keep it so I would have two bodies, but I'm starting to think that it may go and I may buy another full frame, possibly a Mark II. 

Yeah hah I bet you are loving the AF, soooo much better than the 40D AF! And MFA and video and so on.

And yeah you don't really lose all that much reach since the 5D3 is like 8.7MP APS-C and the 40D is 10MP APS-C so it's not a super huge difference.

You would notice the difference compared to a 7D though:
(7D top, then 5D2, then 5D3 then 7D again)
(click image to see it 100% view)

The 7D does have a real reach advantage.

I'm not shooting studio pics of bills though. I'm usually shooting outside in varying conditions of low light and will gladly give up some reach for the III's great low light capability. The 7d does not match the III in high ISO performance. Get out and shoot "real" pictures instead of studio shots trying to nit pick every little detail.

75

5D MK III Sample Images / Re: Post Your 5D Mark III Bird shots (cropped or uncropped) here

« on: July 26, 2012, 08:54:42 PM »

100-400L, ISO 640, 1/400 @f/7.1, cropped to be about 6% of the original frame.