Messages

31

Portrait / Re: Happy Holidays Photos!

« on: December 22, 2012, 10:54:14 PM »

Not exactly portrait but since I wound up in the shot I guess it works.  From last night.  Winter boredom resulted in getting the idea to drag a car battery and an inverter, with some christmas lights and well....

32

Lenses / Infinity and Cold

« on: December 22, 2012, 01:57:51 PM »

After getting a 21mm Zeiss that has a hard stop for infinity that is spot on too, I'm wondering how that still works with bitter temps.  Seems most of the lenses I've had the infinity changes a good bit if the lens gets really cold.  Last night for example the infinity on the Samyang 14mm seemed to be clear at the very edge, while warmer times it seemed it was definitely on the other side of the infinity line.  Guess I'm not sure what I'm wondering exactly.  Just what others have seen.  Some lenses must be designed differently that it's not as big of an issue.  First impressions is that it's not budging on the Zeiss. 

33

Lenses / Re: Variable length zooms and dust

« on: December 22, 2012, 01:29:12 PM »

I've only had problems with my push pull 100-400L, granted I've never owned a huge collection of lenses.  It for sure is a dust pump.  Looks like it was assembled in the Sahara desert. 

I've had it fog up inside the same area as well.  The only way I got it back out(without waiting forever) at the time was to blast the car heater on the lens then push pull pump it a lot, then cool it back down in the cold outside air, then repeat.  The expanding and contracting along with the pumping eventually dried it out.  Had to dry the car out from all the snow melt issues first. 

Seems the vacuuming stays out of the cam.

34

Lenses / Re: Fellow stargazers & nighttime landscape loners!

« on: December 19, 2012, 10:45:58 AM »

I wonder if there is anything wider than 50 and probably really wider than 35mm too that is faster than F2.8 and doesn't have much coma full frame edges/corners. 

I'm tempted to try the Samyang 24 F1.4 for the night sky lens when stars are part of the subject. 

http://www.lenstip.com/245.7-Lens_review-Canon_EF_24_mm_f_1.4L_II_USM_Coma_and_astigmatism.html

http://www.lenstip.com/330.7-Lens_review-Samyang_24_mm_f_1.4_ED_AS_UMC_Coma__astigmatism_and_bokeh.html

Sure otherwise the Canon is better but for stars I'd think the Samyang would be better even if wide open it  has less resolution.  If I ever have $600 laying around and a lens buying bug again I'd probably have to go with that.  I really missed the wide faster than F2.8 deal the other night on the meteor shower.  50mm worked ok enough full frame and well 35 F1.4 would have probably been ideal for just that.  But yeah big sky 24mm would be the end of the least wide.

The Samyang 14 really turned out to work well at night.  I had my doubts because of the large vignetting wide open, but really it turned out to be ok.  http://www.extremeinstability.com/2012-12-1.htm  Some night stuff on there with both the Zeiss and the Samyang but not star fields.  The fogbows would not have fit without the 14.  Brief trip with the 24L II at night before I swapped it for a Zeiss 21.  http://www.extremeinstability.com/2012-9-22.htm  Really was pointless to get that one for night over the Zeiss since even F2 coma was nasty anyway.  There was very little improvement.  Least F2.8 is fast enough for most things anyway.  But yeah the meteor deal, F2 felt like a huge improvement over F2.8.  Sure some was 50mm compared to 21mm on them too but it just felt larger than simply F2 to F2.8.

35

Lenses / Re: Fellow stargazers & nighttime landscape loners!

« on: December 18, 2012, 06:49:24 PM »

Zeiss 21mm might be my fave now.  The Canon 24L II proved pretty pointless for night sky more open than F2.8 anyway.  Coma extends well into the photo, bad coma, so it tends to make it a little pointless for that added F1.4 to F2.8 range it would allow at night.  Unless one likes big ol wings off their stars I guess.  Samyang 24 F1.4 had less coma and might be interesting.  Canon 14L had plenty of that too. 

36

Software & Accessories / Re: Stop Using Instagram

« on: December 18, 2012, 04:25:58 PM »

I think most larger companies wanting images and often purchasing images, kind of fear not paying someone.  Say someone snags a photo off my website and posts it on instagram/etc and they get it that way.  So then I send them(end user) a nice bill or let a lawyer do it as the images are registered.  At least if they are paying someone, they should have a better recourse if someone does that.  Because I sure won't care if they can't then find whoever snagged the image.  So many times I've been told "well a friend of blah said we could use these images."  Great, like I care what someone fed you.  Seems plenty out there learn it is better to be paying someone something.  Course I laugh inside knowing the crazy amount that don't and think it is cool to just snag and use. The amount of people that will snag any and everything off the net and "share it" in their own folder on these sites, I don't get how many companies are going to feel real great taking free images from these same places.  They are at least less protected going that route. 

37

Software & Accessories / Re: Software to correct Rokinon 14mm mustache distortion anyone?

« on: December 16, 2012, 10:06:57 AM »

Is it me or do I not see samyang under this list when searching for it?

http://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/multi/lens-profile-support-lightroom-4.html

rokinon=samyang=bower

Adobe lists the lens under samyang , but it's all the same

For those using Adobe I got mine here:  http://www.adobe.com/support/download/destail.jsp?ftpID=5492
Download the adobe lens profile downloader.    In there change Camera make to Canon then under lens it is way down the list at the bottom listed as samyang.  Then in the raw converter it's under Canon. 

38

Lenses / Re: what 5 lenses would you want (exclude factors such as buissiness and body)

« on: December 13, 2012, 07:50:36 PM »

I'm pretty happy with my 4 lenses on a 5D II.

Have.
Samyang 14 F2.8
Zeiss 21 F2.8
Sigma 50 F1.4
Canon 100-400L

Would add.
Canon 24-70L II(I think)

Thoughts on them.  I don't think I'd even care to swap the Samyang 14 for the Canon 14 if someone wanted to.  Loving the thing and I've used a Canon 14L II before.  The Zeiss 21 is really just sick and not going anywhere.  I would likely swap out the Sigma 50 for the Zeiss 50 F2.  I suppose swapping out the 100-400 for the 200-400L would make sense too.  Would then need some mid-range zoom and the 24-70L II would work great.  Yeah that'd be a damn happy full frame line-up. 

39

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Using 1DX in very low temperatures

« on: December 08, 2012, 06:56:38 PM »

Used a 5D II a couple times in -25F for a while without issue.  Left it out shooting a star trail basically all night at 0F.  Only problems were getting frost caked on things and the LCD playing images really really slow. 

40

Technical Support / Re: Hot / stuck pixels on new 5d II

« on: December 08, 2012, 06:49:04 PM »

May wind up wishing you could trade back for this only 7 hot pixel one.  7 sounds great lol.

41

Lenses / Re: Quick decision help: canon 24 vs zeiss 21

« on: December 07, 2012, 12:38:53 PM »

http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/Lenses/Camera-Lens-Database/Carl-Zeiss/Carl-Zeiss-Distagon-T-21mm-f-2.8-ZE-Canon/%28camera%29/436/%28cameraname%29/CANON-EOS-1Ds-Mark-III#div1anchor

Clicking on measurements, resolution, then field map, then going through the apertures, that is rather humorous.  Like the corners go that bad stopping down to F5.6.  Something ain't right there and surely that figures into the overall resolution score. 

42

Lenses / Re: Quick decision help: canon 24 vs zeiss 21

« on: December 07, 2012, 12:01:09 PM »

fwiw
http://diglloyd.com/blog/2012/20120224_1-Zeiss21.html 
 
Yeah I'm sure it is a for what you will use it for.  Not that it matters now since you already bought I guess. 

I recently had the same decision to make going back to full frame.  The F1.4 for night stuff desire, like Milky Way, Auroras, etc got the better of me and I went 24L II.  I then soon saw the F1.4 difference was a moot point given how useless it was anyway.  Any light source had huge flying coma wings.  Really all the way through to F2.8.  Basically I'd be wanting to stop it down to that in the end anyway.  And that stuff extends well in from the corners a long ways.  Wound up with the Zeiss in the end.  But for sure there would be other uses for that F1.4 to F2.8 bonus range of the Canon, just nothing I'd ever shoot.  Now having the Zeiss I'm a lot floored by the resolution and all that micro-contrast I'd heard about.  It really is a different deal than I've ever seen. 

The other thing on DxO resolution scores linked here.  lensrentals.com always has some used 21 Ziess lenses for sale it seems.  I've seen some of them with a 20/20 lp/mm resolution value stated by then.  Most 22/22.  The one I got said 24/24 "obscene resolution".  So even with Zeiss it must really depend on the copy.  I wonder how many of the "20/20" types could be tweaked by Zeiss to 24/24 or if they are sol for some un-tweakable reason.  The hard stop infinity focus deal is a serious bonus too, as I saw on a recent night out shooting and swapping lenses a lot.  Was always thankful for that when I'd slam the Zeiss back on. 

43

Lenses / Re: What's your dream lens

« on: December 04, 2012, 01:21:02 PM »

I got my dream lens recently and the first weather related thing to shoot with it was a truly crazy moon-lit foggy sunrise op the other morning.  The Zeiss 21 F2.8.  The lens is truly nuts.    90% big bright moon up and behind to the west at about 75 degrees. Could not ask for a more dreamy scene for this dreamy lens to handle lol.  I now completely get what this micro-contrast talk is all about.  The full size resolution and micro-contrast is really something to behold.  The Samyang 14 on this same night actually really held its own as well.  Same scene and time from it. 

44

Lenses / Samyang 14mm F2.8, Zeiss 21 F2.8 and Three 50mm Reviews/Observations

« on: December 01, 2012, 03:25:20 PM »

http://www.extremeinstability.com/topic-14-21-50-lenses.htm

This isn't exactly a review or worthy of that title.  Basically I recently went back to full frame and wound up with a Samyang 14mm, Zeiss 21 and Sigma 50 for new lenses for it.  Before I settled there I had a 24L II and Canon 50 F1.4, and earlier in the year had a 14L II rented on a 5D III.  I decided to make a page on my site noting a few things and reasoning on ending up where I did.  Take from it what you will.  Basically compared sharpness of the 1.4 and 1.8 Canon 50s to the Sigma 1.4.  Then noted sharpness, vignetting and distortion on the Samyang and Zeiss. 

I couldn't be happier with the Samyang 14 or the Zeiss(no duh on that one I guess).  In the end I wish I had kept the Canon 50 F1.4.   Sigma is sharper wide open but Canon quickly passes it even by F2.8.  The Canon 24L II was great and sharp, but full frame coma was so bad beyond F2.8 it was sorta a lost cause opting for it for a fast night lens.  Zeiss was wider like I wanted and no coma.   

Most of the examples are gif animations too, for stopping down comparisons of sharpness, vignetting and distortion before and after fix.

It was never planned to do a review at all.  Only later on with new different lenses I'd try and frame it like I had testing the others before. 

Anyway, I now have these if something else was wanted done.  Really just need to get the Samyang 14 out for night stars yet.  The amount of vignetting at F2.8 I really haven't planned on using it much for that anyway. 

45

Lenses / Re: Advice 5d3, wide angle

« on: November 30, 2012, 09:08:57 PM »

B&H do not list the lens they carry as the 'AS'….bummer

AS is short for aspherical which both names on lenstip are using.  Only difference left is MC vs UMC.