Messages

1

1D X Sample Images / Re: Weddings

« on: May 07, 2013, 02:00:02 PM »

The photo was made with a flipped lens, so I didn't have control over aperture. That's why I bought an extension tube recently to cover this type of shots 

Can you explain this technique a little? I've never heard of "flipping" a lens before. I love the results! Great photo (and the non-macro ones a awesome as well).

Here's ste-by-step manual:
1. Take off the lens from your camera (wide angle works better, such as the 18-55);
2. Flip it around;
3. Hold it up to the camera and shoot 

Few hints:
- Autofocus won't work, you need to focus by camera movement;
- Aperture cannot be controlled; though I saw people removing the lens with camera turned on, so it has aperture value persistent (I don't recommend following their example);
- There are converters that can be attached to the front of the lens (filter mount) and EF mount from the other side;
- This trick is called super-macro, because focus plane is really close to your lens (you can identify the distance with your finger as a starting point).

Enjoy 

Thanks! Though it kind of scares me to think of doing that. I can't imagine the dust-on-sensor issues. Great results though!

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1D X Sample Images / Re: Weddings

« on: May 02, 2013, 11:37:15 AM »

The photo was made with a flipped lens, so I didn't have control over aperture. That's why I bought an extension tube recently to cover this type of shots 

Can you explain this technique a little? I've never heard of "flipping" a lens before. I love the results! Great photo (and the non-macro ones a awesome as well).

3

Landscape / Quantarid Meteor Shower

« on: January 04, 2013, 01:43:17 PM »

Did anyone get any photos of the Quantarid Meteor Shower yesterday morning? I spent a few hours outside, and managed to capture 2 bright ones, and a few faint ones. They were very impressive to the naked eye, but not always bright enough to register in camera. This was my first time trying for meteors, it was fun and frustrating at the same time - I think I need many more cameras pointing in a lot of different directions to get a higher success rate!

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Landscape / Re: Help Me Get Better - Crashing Waves - Round 2

« on: November 28, 2012, 11:27:12 AM »

They look good! If you want to improve them, I think your best bet is to wait for better light. It looks duskish, or very cloudy in these photos, but if you get a low sun shining through, it'll add contrast and clarity to the waves and splashes, and possibly nice colours as well. Keep trying the location in different light to get a feel for what works best.

Also, it may help to add something to the foreground (ie, a person in the frame - don't let them get too close to the waves though!) to give a sense of scale. Waves and rocks can greatly vary in size, and without something in your frame for size reference, it's sometimes hard to tell whether the wave is big or small.

Just some thoughts from my years shooting beaches and ocean in Newfoundland.

5

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Alaska: 5D2 or 1D4

« on: November 06, 2012, 11:54:46 PM »

Typical Vermont Weather Report: "6-42 inches of snow followed by a tropical blast with thundertorms in the afternoon followed by a deep freeze and no sunshine for a month"  Lets just say that it gets cold enough where even the heariest of us won't go out.   

that's the key thing, will you really be outside shooting when the weather gets extreme?  or will you be inside enjoying a 40 and wondering why it's got to be so dark all the time?  any of the 5D series cams should be able to handle things just fine, unless you're planning on dogsledding the Yukon and documenting it.  the main thing that will happen will be your batteries draining really fast.

I followed the Yukon Quest (dogsled race from Whitehorse, Yukon, to Fairbanks Alaska) as the official photographer in 2011, and had only a 5D (original), 30D, and a 20D. I had no issues, and it was -40 to -50 the whole two weeks. It's a matter of taking care of your equipment when moving indoors and outdoors a lot (big ziplocs seem to help!) and making sure your spare batteries are kept warm when not in use. So a 5D should be able to handle it, unless the AF of the 1D series is a must for you. And I actually had better luck with the 30D AF than with the 5D.

Hope this helps!

6

Lenses / Re: Macro system-70-200 f2.8 L II IS USM + 2x extender + extension tubes ANYONE???

« on: November 06, 2012, 10:38:31 PM »

I don't get one thing right. Minimum focus distance for 70-200 is 1.2m, but when you use 500D on it working distance is 50cm. Does this mean no AF?

Can somebody describe me workflow with 500D on 70-200? I mean, do I have to put my subject 50cm from the lens and that's all I can get?

I just got one recently, and was surprised at how it works. It focuses at 50cm, and give you a little bit of leeway since you can still move your focus ring to focus slightly closer or farther away. So basically 50cm plus or minus a little bit. So your framing is very limited unless you use a zoom lens, which will let you increase or decrease the size of the subject in the viewfinder.

Af does work still, but it's tough to get it accurate due to the high magnification (I often use it on a 400mm with a 1.4x), and only makes a difference in the 50cm range. You won't be able to AF on anything outside of this range. 

It sounds limiting, but I love it. I don't want to buy a dedicated macro lens, and this little piece of equipment is amazing. Even got an adapter to fit it on my 100mm F2.0 to get closer with it if I need to.

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EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Canon EOS-1D X AF at f/8 with the Kenko 1.4TC

« on: September 04, 2012, 10:17:13 PM »

now with my 1DX, im starting to feel really cheated by Canon - i really do.

my 7 year old 1D Mark IIN and 8 yr old 1D Mark II paired with a third party TC works at f/11 just fine
~ while my 1DX wont.

also - tested it on the Canon T3 - it worked - a bit slower than the 1D Mark II's but very acceptable.

      - tested on the 5D Mark II - it will AF and Lock only if you pre-focus it manually.
      - 5D Mark II without pre-focus will AF and Lock 1 out of 10 or even more - so not acceptable in any standard.

but they will work - while the 1DX wont - WTH Canon!!!!

Awesome! Glad you checked it out. Even though it doesn't fully confirm it will work with an MKIV, I may have to pick up a kenko on the chance that it might work!

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EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Canon EOS-1D X AF at f/8 with the Kenko 1.4TC

« on: September 04, 2012, 07:10:59 PM »

5.6 plus 2x = f/11 - there's no camera that AF at f/11....

you can manual focus though on bright daylight

My 1D Mark IIN and your 1D Mark IV will work on f/8 but not f/11 - none does

hope this helps your inquiry.

Thanks. I only ask since I saw this quote in the thread Birdsasart.com:

"I did not test the Kenko Pro since Artie had already confirmed that the Pro DGX did not work with 5DIII. The Kenko 1.4X MC4 would cause the same error as the Pro DGX with the 5DIII/800 combo. However, the 2X would work and would even autofocus at f11 with the 5DIII. "

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EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Canon EOS-1D X AF at f/8 with the Kenko 1.4TC

« on: September 04, 2012, 04:10:58 PM »

I tried it with the follow;

1DX with EF400L 5.6 plus Kenko 1.4x Pro DGX - f/8 - OK - all AF points works - AF is somewhat front focused.

1DX with EF400L 5.6 plus Kenko 2.0x Pro DGX - f/11- NO GO - Hang-Up - Had to Remove Battery.

1DX with EF400L 5.6 plus EF 1.4X II - f/8 - NO AF but Camera WORKS

1DX with EF400L 5.6 plus EF 2.0X II - f/11 - NO AF but Camera WORKS

If you have time, would you mind testing the 400 f5.6 and the Kenko 2x on the 1dMKIIN? (I'd say 1dmkIV, but looks like you don't have one handy according to your signature). I'd really appreciate it. I have a 1dMKIV and am wondering (hoping) that the 2x and 400mm will work together on the pre-1dX series.  Thanks!

10

EOS Bodies / Re: I love Primes.

« on: August 24, 2012, 11:18:40 PM »

It's a mix of both, for sure. Primes are great because they tend to have wider apertures at a more affordable price. Wide apertures are important to a lot of my work. However, my 70-200 is great, and I'd never want to part with it.

But if I had to choose, I'd go a kit full of primes, since I have 3 bodies, I can still have some flexibility with focal length without swapping lenses if I need to. And I doubt I'll ever see any f2.0 or faster zooms!

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Animal Kingdom / Re: Birds with attitude

« on: August 24, 2012, 10:46:22 PM »

20120115-IMG_3535 by Rick Massie Photography, on Flickr

12

Animal Kingdom / Re: Show your Bird Portraits

« on: August 24, 2012, 10:37:51 PM »

More a group shot than a portrait...

13

EOS Bodies / Re: first pic of canon mirrorless?

« on: July 20, 2012, 11:08:09 AM »

If that new lens is real, you'll be happy to have another macro lens option! I wonder if what the Maximum Magnification ratio is?

That lens is not macro, it just says minimum focusing distance; magnification will be 1:5 or less

Oops, guess I was reading too much into the word "Macro" on the lens, haha. I was hoping that meant at least 1:2. Oh well.

14

EOS Bodies / Re: first pic of canon mirrorless?

« on: July 20, 2012, 10:35:16 AM »

Well, from the new pictures it seems an APS-C sensor indeed
For me the omision of flash is great, I preffer no flash than a useless flash; anyway, there is the 270EX which is pretty good and very pocketeable. I guess they will release an even smaller one for trhese cameras

 If it does have a 3.5 shutter cable release and keeps the silent live view (I mainly shoot macro) I am in; it would be my second body for macro (first is 5D mkII) and would be the only camera I would take to the street when travelling

The only thing I fear is the sensor IQ is going to be well behind NEX cameras

If that new lens is real, you'll be happy to have another macro lens option! I wonder if what the Maximum Magnification ratio is?