Messages

16

Software & Accessories / Re: LR noise reduction in comparison to DPP

« on: October 31, 2012, 01:50:23 PM »

RAW converters certainly make a difference.  Having read a few converter comparisons over the years, I do recall DPP doing better in some pixel-peeping cases than ACR/LR.  It makes sense - after all, who knows the sensor better than Canon?

That said, I think that Lightroom's noise reduction is quite good.  You have to play with the settings to get a feel for them, but it's great to be able to control for color and luminosity noise separately, as well as mask sharpening to prevent sharpening the noise.

The order of operations (boosting exposure vs. noise reduction) doesn't matter in Lightroom.  If you reduce noise before you boost exposure, you'll probably have to reduce noise again after, since you will have revealed noise that you couldn't see before.  I usually do noise reduction as one of the last steps, unless the noise is so great that it really bothers me.  That way, I can make all the adjustments, see how much they've affected the noise, and then reduce noise appropriately.

Also, if I may ask, what was the subject that required exposing -2EV and then pushing it?  That just seems like a recipe for noise...

Hope that helps.

17

Animal Kingdom / Re: Some shots from the local Zoo

« on: October 28, 2012, 06:44:49 PM »

The Forest Spirit

Wow, that is awesome!  It's just begging for an inspiration quote on the right there

18

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Better dynamic range than my 5DIII

« on: October 26, 2012, 03:27:55 PM »

This is "Grotto in an iceberg", photographed during the British Antarctic Expedition of 1911-1913, 5 Jan 1911 by Herbert Ponting. It is in the collection of the National Library of New Zealand. it's a silver gelatin print, reference number: PA1-f-067-12-04.
Please give the photographer his due credit even if the image is released under the creative commons licence!

There is a description and a link to more details in the original post.  I think the photo is fantastic, and I certainly want to credit its creator.

Definitely an interesting discussion.  I think it serves to deflate some of the hubris and tech insanity going around today.  Technology keeps advancing, but great images aren't all about latest and greatest tech.

19

Canon General / Re: How to shoot parties (general stuff: birthday, halloween, casual gatherings)

« on: October 26, 2012, 03:19:55 PM »

Oh, just wanted to add that while you might at times feel awkward as "that photographer guy" (and if you are using off-camera flash, you're guaranteed to stand out from the shutterbugs), but then you can grow into becoming "that guy who takes awesome photos" with people begging you to do it - it's all up to you!

20

Canon General / Re: How to shoot parties (general stuff: birthday, halloween, casual gatherings)

« on: October 26, 2012, 03:14:37 PM »

I don't think anybody mentioned off-camera flash yet.  On-camera flash, even with a diffuser or a softbox, illuminates straight ahead, and although you can make the light softer, it still has a very cliche look in my opinion.  I almost always use a flash with a diffuser off-camera using the OC-E3 TTL cord in a party situation.  I use just a simple sto-fen omnibounce (lately I've been messing around with a LightSphere that a friend gave me), and hold it in my left hand as I shoot.  It's a bit more cumbersome, as both of your hands will be full, but I think the results are worth it, just because they look different from most other head-on flash party shots.

Gelled flash is another great technique that takes some experimentation.  Again, even if you get the lighting down and are able to capture good moments, some environments just look boring, and I sometimes use gelled flash to give a color tone to the background.  In a nutshell, you have to think about what color you want the background to be tinted, and then gel your flash with the "opposite" color.  If you want a green background - go for magenta gel, if you want it to be reddish, use a green gel.  Then in post, you can use white balance and other tools to bring your flash-lit subject back to "neutral" light (and it's up to you how natural you want them to look), as the background gets colored.  (You could also use manual WB in-camera, but I find that these photos almost always need color adjustment in post anyway).  If you are really pushing the color, Lightroom might not be enough - its WB sliders will max out.  Photoshop and LAB mode are your friends for this approach.  It can be laborious, but again, the result will be a more unique look for even a generic space:


Agreed with others to bump up the ISO, open the aperture, and slow down the shutter to get maximum ambiance - then dial them back as needed.

First two photos are just bounced flash in my left hand.  The second two illustrate the gel method.

21

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Better dynamic range than my 5DIII

« on: October 03, 2012, 03:53:31 PM »

Grotto in an iceberg, photographed during the British Antarctic Expedition of 1911-1913
http://beta.natlib.govt.nz/records/22698855

What is this groundbreaking new camera that can get cloud details, snow, and noise-free shadows with plenty of detail in one shot?

22

EOS Bodies / Re: *UPDATE* More Canon EOS 6D Specs Surface [CR1]

« on: September 12, 2012, 08:05:16 PM »

Dang, if it had built-in flash and an articulated screen, I would sell my 5DIII regardless of what AF is in there...

23

5D MK III Sample Images / Re: 5D MK III Images

« on: July 03, 2012, 02:29:47 PM »

Upgraded from 5Dc.  Kind of an intimidating camera since I know nothing about video, but the noise levels, image quality, the LCD, and the framerate are sooo good!

First one with 70-200 II
Second with 16-35 II

24

Portrait / Re: Portraits of my GF, Would like feedback!!

« on: May 09, 2012, 02:17:06 PM »

Haha welcome to the world of online critique!  Hope you have thick skin and realize that ultimately it's all about expressing yourself through images, not following rules or seeking mass approval.  It's great to get tips from people, but eventually, you have to follow your own intuition. 

Thankfully, it seems like you do have some, since for a first go, these are pretty good, and I can see that you're experimenting with framing!  I agree with most of what's been said about composition, except that the first image, with her looking out of the frame, could still work in general.  It's all about intent.  Someone said it looked awkward.  Awkward is a feeling you can manipulate.  You can make things awkward on purpose, although I don't think you intended it in this case.  Actually, what makes it seem uncomfortable to me is more the tension in her shoulders. 

I'm also not a huge fan of the processing.  I think it is a bit overcooked, I would've gone for a softer look, using curves and selective dodging and burning using a soft, low-opacity brush on a soft light layer.  The background is also quite busy in the tree shots.

The great thing is that you have a beautiful and willing model (and the camera's not bad).  Good luck!

25

Lenses / Re: Worth Getting 24L & 35L both?

« on: May 08, 2012, 03:19:50 PM »

Perspective distortion (seen with wide angles) and the related perspective compression (seen with telephoto lenses) are a property of the distance from the camera to the subject, independent of any geometric distortions introduced by the lens or camera angle relative to a vertical subject

Ah yes, you're right, I was indeed talking about keystoning, I didn't realize what perspective distortion actually means.  "Correcting" actual perspective would indeed be tough - you'd need to make the background elements appear closer to the foreground.  I could see doing that on a selective basis with cloning.  I'd bet that some sort of plugin/filter could be made for that - perhaps requiring a user-created depth map to identify foreground/background.

26

Lenses / Re: Worth Getting 24L & 35L both?

« on: May 08, 2012, 01:02:50 PM »

Really, you can fix the perspective distortion in post?

• Lightroom lens correction -> Manual
• ACR lens correction -> Manual
• Photoshop Edit->Transform->Perspective
• Photoshop Filter->Lens Correction->Custom->Transform

Still, I'd rather fix it with the right lens than sit around in post

27

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

« on: May 03, 2012, 04:12:36 PM »

As Roger showed in this article, the black tape is used extensively in 5D3.
http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2012/04/5d-iii-strip-tease

Oh my God, it's even worse than we thought!!  It seems that Canon, convinced by "users" that they can longer make a capable SLR, are focusing on making a camera made entirely out of tape!

28

Lenses / Re: Worth Getting 24L & 35L both?

« on: May 02, 2012, 02:45:05 PM »

I have the 24 and now I want to get the 35.  I assume if I had gone with the 35 first, it would be the other way around now.  24 is great for capturing groups - see the first image.  Not ideal for closer portraits if you want to avoid distortion - as in the second image.  You are destined to get both

29

Lenses / Re: Trouble with my Canon 24.1.4 ii lens at 1.4

« on: May 02, 2012, 02:25:45 PM »

It's hard to say exactly what exactly is wrong.  You said you were able to focus fine in a controlled environment (on a ruler).  Was that with autofocus?  The photos on your website are quite nice, so you know what you're doing, but I didn't see a lot of super shallow DOF shots.  1.4  is extremely shallow - misfocusing on the wrong part of a person's head is not at all uncommon even smaller apertures than that.  I bought this lens refurb from Canon and I shoot with a 5Dc, and it's quite sharp wide open (and amazingly sharp stopped down), but focus is tough to nail, especially at close distances.  Just breathing in and out can throw me out of focus.  I'd say shoot some more with it - controlled tests as well as regular shooting - and if it's indeed consistently off, send it in.  Good luck!

30

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

« on: May 02, 2012, 02:00:56 PM »

I can see it on the used market now - "I'm the original owner, 10K shutter clicks, tape fix applied..."