Messages

16

Landscape / Re: Jippieeee! It's spring! Post your first spring pictures here.

« on: March 22, 2013, 09:40:49 AM »

We're currently going through periods of intensely heavy rainfall with motorways being closed off because of flooding, occasional snowfall as well. Here in Dublin, Ireland.

Doesn't feel like spring here... jealous of all of you with nice spring weather/scenery!

17

Canon General / Re: Which eye do you shoot with?

« on: March 13, 2013, 06:25:11 PM »

Left eye. Left handed. I keep my right eye open at all times too.

18

Speedlites, Printers, Accessories / Re: how reliable are cheap third party flashes (yongnuo)

« on: March 09, 2013, 10:29:10 AM »

I have 3 Yongnuo YN-560 II's and they're absolutely amazing. I prefer them over my 430 EX II, they're much more user friendly, the only reason I have the 430 EX II is for ETTL purposes.

I've used the Yongnuo flashes consistently for a year now and I haven't had a misfire or anything wrong happen, I use them with Yongnuo triggers as well.

19

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: CF Cards - Where do you buy yours?

« on: March 09, 2013, 10:25:51 AM »

i can't believe people use Lexar....

I've had 3 fail...and any other pro's i talk to have had same experience and lost stuff..

everyone (in ireland) using sandisk for a while now...

I'm Irish and 95% of my CF cards are Lexar, I have 1 Sandisk and 1 really old 2GB Fuji card.

I've never had a Lexar card fail on me. I buy all of mine from Amazon UK and they're the best cards I've ever had for such a stellar price.

20

Lenses / Re: your goto everyday lens and why?

« on: March 04, 2013, 03:24:32 PM »

My goto everyday lens has been the Sigma 24-60mm F/2.8 for as long as I can remember. I absolutely love it on my 1D Mark IIN, so much so, I've seen no need to buy a Canon 24-70mm F/2.8L. It's light, compact and the sharpest lens I own (Sharper than my 70-200mm F/2.8L non-IS and 300mm F/4L).

I love to shoot wide or move myself in closer if I need a tighter shot.

21

Animal Kingdom / Re: MY dog

« on: February 26, 2013, 07:59:45 PM »

My dog is without a doubt my most photographed subject, every time I get some new equipment I always test it out on him!

22

Canon General / Re: How well do you see color?

« on: February 25, 2013, 01:37:36 PM »

24.

What an annoying test, the first one was fun but it got horrifically boring after that. Now I don't know if I have bad colour vision or just didn't care at all.

23

EOS Bodies / Re: Canon EOS 7D Mark II Spec List [CR2]

« on: February 19, 2013, 01:24:03 PM »

A 1.6 crop sensor AND a 24mp image to crop into? Talk about reach... sounds too good to be true. If image quality is good, that is.

24

Canon General / Re: Do you see lenses when you check the time?

« on: February 17, 2013, 06:17:10 PM »

I thought it was only me!

This happens multiple times a day The past week I keep seeing 14:24 and 16:35, makes me think my mind's trying to tell me to get an UWA

25

Lenses / Re: What's the best deal you've ever gotten on a lens?

« on: February 03, 2013, 12:33:34 PM »

Last year I got a 300mm F/2.8L non-IS in extremely good condition for €1400. Had to sell it after a few months due to personal issues at the time which required me to get money quickly. I've never regretted letting go of it more, it's been impossible to get a deal like that since. I'm stuck with a 300mm F/4 at the moment.

26

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Up to what ISO are you willing to set? Aperture?

« on: January 27, 2013, 11:09:51 AM »

I have no problem maxing out my 1D Mark IIN, I'm happy shooting at 3200 ISO (H1) once my exposure is set perfectly in camera, it doesn't give much leeway for editing the exposure of the RAW files.

Using a 24-70mm F/2.8 I can get a keeper rate of about 70% when shooting at 1/30th. I typically shoot at F/2.8 all the time, regardless of bokeh. Unless I'm doing a group shot or specifically looking for an image to be extra sharp (like a picture which contains signs with writing or an environmental portrait) then I'll stop down to F/4 or F/5.6.

27

Street & City / Re: Your best street shots of any kind.

« on: January 08, 2013, 11:03:18 PM »

I've never really been into street photography as it makes me nervous (I know, it sounds stupid). But I got this shot once.

28

EOS Bodies - For Stills / 1D Mark IIN AF hesitation

« on: January 02, 2013, 05:27:49 AM »

I picked up a 1D Mark IIN a few days ago, it's my first time with a 1-Series body. I'm moving from a 40D/60D set up to a 1D IIN/40D set up as I'm shooting mainly sports and events. The previous owner was a press photographer who used the camera for years and looked after it, she never had a problem with it.

I've noticed that there's a slight hesitation before it attempts to find focus and it's noticeably slower than my 40D, it doesn't feel quite as snappy.  I've tested it on a Sigma 24-60mm F/2.8 and a Canon 70-200mm F/2.8L and the results are the same. The tests are using only the centre AF point. The 1D hunts a fair bit more in lower light than the 40D but I put that down to the age difference between the two. Could the hesitation problem due to the age as well? I wiped down the lens contacts but that didn't make a difference.

I'm considering sending it in to the local Canon service centre here in Dublin, but would just like some other opinions before I do so.

29

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: What photo/video gear did Santa bring you this year?

« on: December 27, 2012, 01:36:02 AM »

I got a tri-axial spirit level for my current DSLRs... this one to be exact: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Camera-Hotshoe-Olympus-Panasonic-Cameras/dp/B001MBEPKM/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1356590046&sr=1-3

This is the first birthday/christmas I have not felt the need for a camera/lens upgrade. But I still needed to get something camera related

30

Lenses / Re: Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8L Non-IS to Be Discontinued in 2013 [CR2]

« on: December 17, 2012, 06:06:34 PM »

I adore this lens. I haven't seen the point of the IS version for my uses since I always need a shutter speed fast enough to freeze the action.

I bought the 70-200mm F/4 IS and sold it after 2 weeks to buy the 2.8 non-IS. It's sad to see this lens be discontinued.