Messages

436

Software & Accessories / Re: Need help on neck/Shoulder Strap for camera body...!!!

« on: September 18, 2012, 10:13:06 AM »

OK, Wow.  Tried to post again this morning... with success!  Finally!

Lots of good info people have shared here.  I've used many straps over the last 3 years.  Lots of Black Rapids which are great.  Carry  Speed.  Cotton.  Lately, I've been using the BosStrap.  It is a lot simpler, softer and lighter than the others.  It is less distracting too.

http://www.bosstrap.com/

As I read through this post, I would also like to make sure everyone is aware of the M-Plate Pro which I haven't used but looks very high quality and well thought out.

http://www.customslr.com/products/m-plate-pro

The Cinch Strap has my attention.  I may have to try one sometime.  At $70 it's not cheap but since all my photography is on the go, a quality strap system is very important to me.

Finally, I have a Nikon AH-4 wrist strap on all my SLRs.  It has a slot on the mount plate that I put a small steel key ring through which is what I attach all my different strap connectors to.  The key ring is large enough to allow a large Black Diamond Climbing Carabiner to go through.  I put the carabiner over my leather belt and it provides a good locking "hook" that I can hang the camera off of.  It is low profile so people don't see a big strap, just a camera on my hip.  I carry the camera in my hand half the time anyway and the Nikon AH-4 allows my hand to rest.  I use the carabiner to free up my hand when eating or whatever.  I never lay my camera down anywhere.  The carabiner is great when at my son's school stuff or a wife's work party and I don't want to look like I have a lot of camera gear on.  (The SLR is geeky enough already.)

Keep all the good suggestions rolling everyone!!

437

Software & Accessories / Re: Need help on neck/Shoulder Strap for camera body...!!!

« on: September 17, 2012, 10:38:19 PM »

I wrote a nice reply with lots of good info and other ideas not already stated here but no matter what I do, I can't post it.  All I get is "Access Denied - Security Block" or a 403 Error.  If I preview it, all I see is "Fetching Preview..."
I've tried logging in and out, different browsers, whatever.  Just this message took hours to post.  I give up.  Bummer.  What a waste of time.

438

Lenses / Re: Recommendations for my first prime (5DMK3 with 24-70 II and 70-200 2.8 II)

« on: March 23, 2012, 02:33:04 PM »

You have a long focal length range covered with the zooms you currently have.

If I were you, I would enjoy two of the best L zooms ever made and buy a 16-35 L (my favorite lens ever) to complete your kit.  However, if you dead set on buying primes, do this....

Buy a roll of high quality gaffer tape.  Black.  Why high quality gaffer tape?  Because it won't leave a bunch of nasty adhesive goo all over your equipment.  You'll use it for all kinds of things in photography but for now, you can use it for two things...

1.  Use a short length to "lock" the zoom at the focal length of different prime lenses you are interested in.  Shoot all day like that.  See if you can accept that focal length before you buy/rent one.  Then rent one.  Then buy one if you really need it.
2.  Cut 1/4" wide strips that will fit around the shiny black/red ring circumference on your black L lenses and protect them when they rest/touch on a table, etc and hide the red ring from potential thieves.  (Also, put a small piece over the 5D and Mark III logos on the body too!)

If you want to experiment with a prime without breaking the bank, the EF 28mm f/1.8 USM is still one of my favorite lenses and it is only around $300 used.  My suggestions for great L primes would be a 24 f/1.4, a 35 f/1.4 or a 15mm f/2.8 FishEye.  I've never warmed up to longer primes because I do a lot of casual indoor shooting of people and I don't like to stand 15-20 feet away from them.  Once you get past 24-35mm, you will start feeling rather boxed in with what you can shoot candid unless you are doing studio work.  You'll back up into people, walls, small dogs and children and eventually off of curbs and cliffs trying to get everyone in the shot or compose it a certain way.  People will wonder why you ask them for a photo only to run away from them and shout from across the room to get the shot.  Really.  Unless your goal is to fill the frame with one face, not a couple or a threesome.

Take a look at what Pete Souza has done as the White House photographer with a 5D Mark II and the 35 f/1.4.  He shoots with that more than anything.  (You can look at the EXIF data to see how he shoots.)  He also uses the 50 f/1.2 but he's shooting in larger venues than most.  http://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse

In conclusion, try the gaffer tape on your zooms, simulate the focal lengths and then see what works best for your style.  Don't buy three $1000+ primes just to try until you are sure that you need/want them.  You may find that primes are too much trouble and the 16-35 is a much better idea!

Have fun!!!

439

Lenses / Re: advice on lens for evening events

« on: March 23, 2012, 01:56:19 PM »

Of all the lenses I pull out of my camera bag, my 16-30mm f/2.8 is on my camera more often than any other.  As a professional wedding photographer, I am at evening events twice a week.  Have you considered getting one of these? Then you will have it when you upgrade to a full frame body.

Yep, big ditto!  My 16-35 L lens is my favorite lens for both FF and Crop bodies.

thanks Rusty TheGeek for the Advise I'm planning to get the EX 580II and possibly a smaller slave flash.  and yes i have looked at the 16-35L. seems to be a awesome lens.

Mt Spokane Photography thanks for the advise. but with flash will the 2.8 still not be fast enough?

This is where experience, practice and personal style determine the answer to your question.  IMHO, in a real world party scenario, two stops of light (2.8 vs 1.4) in the lens can either make all the difference or not so much.  It just depends how you want to shoot, what DOF you can accept/work with and/or what ISO is acceptable.  In low light, it's common to expect that expensive and exciting BAA (Big Ass Aperture) lens to be a cure-all, but in reality it will extremely limit what is in the focus plane at f/1.4 and nothing stops blur except more shutter speed which the aperture only partially helps you achieve.  (Don't forget the Exposure Triangle!)  So, how do you sacrifice/regain your DOF?  Change the aperture (+/- DOF/focal plane), shutter speed (+/- blur) or both?  Or do you live with more noise and crank up the ISO a bit to help both DOF/Blur?  I do a little of it all to vary the way the shots turn out and how I plan to "fix" them later in post.  In candid photography, you are often shooting multiple people or little groups laughing, moving and almost never lined up to all be in focus.  And you aren't shooting a dark city skyline on a tripod.  So don't expect a 1.4 aperture to provide you with a lot of wonderful in-focus/well-lit-in-the-dark people shots.  It just ain't gonna happen!  At a 1.4 aperture, you will likely see eyes in focus and ears blurred.  That means that the person next to them will likely be soft if they are an inch or two forward or back.  2.8 is much more forgiving than 1.4 in this respect.  I also keep my eyes peeled for higher levels of available light in the area like windows, lamps, neon, stage lights, campfires, moonlight, etc.  A subtle fill flash will help slightly improve the focus and shadows by stopping the movement at the end of the shutter (assuming you use 2nd curtain) which allows a little tighter aperture setting to get more acceptable DOF.  In low light you don't need a lot of flash, you need it well diffused and well shaped so it blends in.  Bouncing it, letting the diffuser scatter it, whatever it takes.  In addition, if you are at an ambient light level that only f/1.4 will allow you to work with, you probably won't be auto-focusing well and will have to manually focus most of the time unless you have a flash with focus assist.  At this point, you are on the edge of getting good photos at all.  You will need to go to Manual settings and do a lot of multiple exposures to hopefully get a few non-blur shots.  It's possible but it will be a challenge.

Again, good luck and HAVE FUN WITH IT.  It will be less stressful and more fun if you practice a lot before the actual event!!  Practice shooting and practice fixing the shots in post so you know your setting limits that can be "fixed" later.  Take insurance shots with the flash and camera on auto "P" if you have to but then change your settings and go for the creative shots that will likely be a lot more interesting and impressive.  Otherwise, you might as well just take a point and shoot and provide basic safe pictures like anyone else.

440

Lenses / Re: advice on lens for evening events

« on: March 21, 2012, 09:11:58 AM »

Of all the lenses I pull out of my camera bag, my 16-30mm f/2.8 is on my camera more often than any other.  As a professional wedding photographer, I am at evening events twice a week.  Have you considered getting one of these? Then you will have it when you upgrade to a full frame body.

Yep, big ditto!  My 16-35 L lens is my favorite lens for both FF and Crop bodies.

441

Lenses / Re: advice on lens for evening events

« on: March 20, 2012, 11:22:15 PM »

Oh, BTW... I've used a EF 28 f/1.8 USM for a long time and I still love that lens.  It was my first prime and it's a great low light lens.  If you only have a certain amount of $$ to use right now, I would favor getting a 5D and a 28 f/1.8 over a $1000+ L lens on the 60D.  But that's just me.  Otherwise, I've used the 16-35 L on my 60D with good results but you WILL need a bit of fill flash.  I think you'll need some fill flash regardless of which lens you use.  One more stop of light in the lens won't make as big of a difference as you might think to get a quality picture in low light.  You gotta stop that movement a bit and you gotta light those faces.

Cheers!!

442

Lenses / Re: advice on lens for evening events

« on: March 20, 2012, 11:15:00 PM »

I shoot various "event" type photography for outdoor camping, scouts, school events and swim meets.  Getting a fast lens will only go so far with low light and it won't work miracles.  Even if you can get focus lock, you still have dark faces, etc.  It always helps to have a small bit of fill flash.  Also, consider getting a 5D body (if you're not flush with cash) or a 5D2 so you can utilize the fabulous full frame sensor it provides.  It's better with low light than a crop sensor.  Then, get a 16-35 f/2.8 L lens.  You don't need the version II.  Couple that with a decent diffused flash and use flash compensation to dial it down so people don't look like crime scene victims all washed out with a dark background because you're up close.  Try using Av on Auto so backgrounds look natural but this will lower the shutter speed so the flash will help with focus unless your subjects are moving a lot.  You'll also need to bump the ISO.  If this isn't your style, fine, the background will just be dark.

If you decide to get a fast prime, the 24 f/1.4 L is a good lens for both the FF 5D/5D2 and the Crop 60D.  (24mm or 38mm)  Nothing wrong with the sweet 35L but it gets a little too long on the crop for my taste.  I work wide and get up close with a shorter flash duration.  I actually use a SunPak RD2000 with a StoFen diffuser most of the time with it dialed down 1 - 2 stops or more.  It's small and light.  The darker the area, the less flash you need.  The Gary Fong is a great diffuser for weddings and stuff but I hate walking around with something like that, esp if you are carrying two bodies.  Just get a Sto-Fen diffuser and you'll be fine.  Or if you plan to carry two bodies, put the SunPak RD2000 on the candid body and the big flash with the Gary Fong on the other one you plan to do bigger groups with.  Either the 580 EX or the 580 EX II will work great for you.  Heck, even the 430-II and the older 550 EX II are still excellent flash units.  Just don't forget a good diffuser.

Anytime you are shooting available indoor/low light, plan on shooting like crazy with multiple exposures to increase the chance of getting some better shots.  If you're fairly new to available light, esp where people are moving, I strongly suggest you start early and practice, practice!  You can also lower your exp compensation sometimes to quickly give the shutter speed a small assist when you're in a bind but make sure to put it back!

Last, get Lightroom and shoot RAW.  You'll be amazed at how many shots you can bring back from the dead if you are willing to live with a little noise.  The only thing you can't fix is poor focus so that's where the practice comes in figuring out what setting compromises you can make for better focus at the cost of bright exp, aperture or ISO.

Good luck and have fun!!!

443

EOS Bodies / Re: I have my hands on a 5D III and 1Dx tomorrow. Questions?

« on: March 05, 2012, 02:26:32 PM »

Simple question:  Did they make the locking mode wheel spin 360 or are we forced to go back and forth like the 60D.  That's such a pain.

444

Site Information / Re: Should karma remain on the forum?

« on: February 23, 2012, 07:18:19 AM »

CR is a nice distraction.  The forum is like going to a bar frequented by photographers and hanging out.  I don't have much time for it but sometimes it's nice.  The Karma thing is one way to see who is the most cynical and gruff so I know who to listen to.  Sort of like wearing a tattoo and leather jacket.  How do I get my neg Karma numbers jacked in quickly so I have at least as many negatives as positives and have some 'street cred' with the bad boys??   

445

Lenses / Re: EF 70-200 F4 L IS or 70-200 F2.8 L

« on: August 20, 2011, 12:02:25 AM »

I would like to add that I own the EF 70-300 IS lens you say gives you grainy pictures and I will second Edwin's thoughts.  I have a ton of beautiful pictures from that lens on a 30D and 40D camera, not to mention a 5D.  It's not the fault of the lens unless you have some kind of way off wacky copy.  Far as I am concerned, the EF 70-300 IS lens is a hell of a value for what it can produce.

446

Lenses / Re: Which is the best "normal" prime for a Crop Camera?

« on: August 19, 2011, 11:30:16 PM »

I'm not going to quote reviews or comment on camera specs.  My suggestion is based on my own experience with crop and FF cameras.  I have a 30D, 40D, 60D and 5D.  I own or have owned many of the lenses mentioned here.  I carry the 28mm f/1.8 EF USM prime lens for the exact reason you want one and I love using it.  It's a well made lens that isn't cheap and isn't super expensive.  (I like the saying that L stands for Expensive as L!)  I have several other zoom L lenses that cover the same focal length (and I love/use them also) but the 28/1.8 is a great lens on both the crop and FF cameras.  I much prefer it to the 50mm prime lenses I own.  I use it a lot in low light.  Keep in mind that low light sometimes requires some manual focus skill regardless of the lens or camera.  Just my 2 cents.

447

Lenses / Re: Hours away from buying a used 16-35L II

« on: August 08, 2011, 06:41:41 PM »

Buy it and use it!!  Don't try to guess the market, just concentrate on your craft and let the chips fall where they may.  The 16-35mm L lens is one of Canon's all time best lenses ever made.  You can't go wrong.  Buy it and go create thousands of images you otherwise wouldn't have in the time it takes for the 14-24 to eventually arrive.  For all we know the 14-24 may never arrive or it will take a lot longer than expected.  The 14-24 will also have its own personality and who knows how the images will look.  It won't look like a 16-35, that's for sure!

For these reasons along with others, I doubt the 14-24 will affect the resale value of the 16-35 much anyway.  I personally have the 16-35mm-vI lens and I prefer it over the newer vII.  The resale value on the vI lens is still as high as the vII because a lot of other shooters still prefer the vI over the vII as well.

Hope it all turns out great for you.  Have fun!

Rusty

448

Canon General / Re: 580EXII SpeedFlash

« on: August 06, 2011, 10:34:18 AM »

This isn't normal.  I've never had this problem with any electronic device that is working properly.  Swapping batteries in the flash and then between flashes should help you determine where the problem lies.  It's either a bad battery or a bad device.

Note:  It is suggested you remove batteries from any device so the device isn't damaged from battery leakage.  The device shouldn't drain the batteries if it is powered off.  I only use eneloop batteries in important electronics for a multitude of performance and reliability reasons.  However, if you must use alkaline batteries, use Energizer.  Energizers work well but the main reason I use them is they stand behind their batteries and if an Energizer leaks, you can contact them and receive compensation for the damaged item.  I've done it a couple times over the last 10 years (a wall thermostat and a mag flashlight) and I had a check in hand from them in 2- 3 weeks.

Buy the Energizers at Sam's Club.  Buy the eneloops at Costco or batterysupply.com.

449

Contests / Re: Holga Giveaway

« on: July 19, 2011, 05:39:51 PM »

These would really help bend my brain closer toward art photography!  :-)

450

Software & Accessories / Re: Neck strap alternatives

« on: May 19, 2011, 12:26:54 AM »

Ditto on Black Rapid.  I use a Nikon AH-4 Hand Strap and even though it offsets the tripod mount hole, I have never had a problem.  I carry a 5D and a 40D (with or without grips) in the same manner using various Black Rapid straps while outdoors, hiking, camping, etc.  Using the D ring type R-1 fasteners, I also use a carabiner sometimes to hold the camera to another carabiner on my leather belt.  This is good for when I don't want the whole strap on but need to have my hands free.  Using two carabiners isn't as fast to bring the camera up, it requires requires two hands to disconnect, but it works great when I know I won't be shooting all the time and don't want to lay my camera down somewhere.  If I do use a neck strap around my shoulder or something, I have always liked Op/Tech for many of their products.

There are also a few alternatives to Black Rapid - Sun Sniper, Carry Speed and Camera Slinger.

Word to the wise - try to never lay your camera down outdoors, around food, drinks, boy scouts, etc.  If I need to put it somewhere, I keep my camera bag and day pack carabinered to a tree with a heavy duty bungee or something so it is completely out of the way.  (In a trustworthy safe area of course.)