Topics

1

Lenses / Purchasing a used 135mm f/2

« on: May 19, 2013, 03:06:54 PM »

I've decided to get the EF 135mm f/2 L, and I'd like to get a good one on the used market. I've checked out a couple of the rental places (Lens Rentals, Borrow Lenses), and they don't have any in stock at the moment. I'm not in a great place geographically to be able to look at one locally on Craig's List.

Other than those venues, where are some other places to procure this lens?  I've always had good luck with third party vendors on Amazon, although I've never purchased a used lens that way. I know that Amazon has a warranty program, even for third party vendors, but luckily I've never had to use it, so I don't know how good it is. Whatever thoughts you have on purchasing a used quality lens online would be greatly appreciated. My timeline is such that I can wait for a little while, but I'd like to make a purchase within the next 30-45 days. Thanks in advance for your advice.

2

Software & Accessories / Scanners

« on: April 29, 2013, 04:42:59 PM »

So having shot digital for the last six years or so, I've decided to take a leap into the world of film photography. I know that many of you got your start in that medium. I picked up a Canon Elan 7 and loaded it with a roll of Ilford FP4. I sent the film out for developing/scanning, which ran me about $25 for everything (not including the roll of film to begin with.)  I can see that if I do this every 36 frames, I'm going to go broke in a hurry. I'd like to start developing my own film and then scanning to digital. I see a lot of different scanners on the market, so I'm looking for some recommendations/advice on getting a film negative scanner:  Brands, off-brands, resolution, etc...

Thanks in advance for your helpful input. I'll post a scan or two when I get this first roll back in a few days.

3

Software & Accessories / Websites

« on: April 19, 2013, 09:11:44 AM »

This question is a bit OT, so apologies if it doesn't belong. I need to create a small, 2-3 page website for a small photography business. I have my own domain/webhosting. I'm familiar with Wordpress inside and out (I've been using it for 8 years now), but it just seems a bit overkill to use for a project like this. Even Drupal/Joomla installations seem to be too much software for what I'm trying to do. 

For those of you with your own websites, what backend software are you using? I'd like to avoid the 3rd party services like Zenfolio. I'd like to be able to modify my own installations.  I'm just curious as to what options out there would be recommended. Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

4

EOS Bodies - For Stills / White balance for moonlight

« on: April 09, 2013, 01:36:22 PM »

What would be a good white balance level for direct moonlight? Assuming no other light sources, of course.

5

Software & Accessories / CF card health

« on: March 28, 2013, 11:14:20 AM »

I just got back from a trip to the Oregon coast, along with about 450 photos. There were two on my 16G SanDisk (90MB/s) CF card that seemed to be corrupted. They were right next to each other, and they were the only two taken at that particular time. Is this a sign that my CF card is failing, or just a glitch of some kind in that particular session? Is there a way to test these things? I understand these things can fail at any time (this one has had about 11k shots on it). Also, I format my card after every time that I download to the computer, rather than just deleting my files. Any advice you can give me is greatly appreciated.

6

Lenses / Best lens for this purpose

« on: March 25, 2013, 12:18:06 PM »

I've been asked to video/photograph an HO model train set with my 5DmkII.  I'm going to need to rent a lens to get it done, though, as I don't think my 50mm f/1.4 is up for the job. I'm guessing some kind of tiltshift lens with a fairly short focusing distance, if there is such a thing, but I have no idea in what focal length would be best. Thoughts?

7

Lenses / Bridge not sharp - why?

« on: March 10, 2013, 11:40:47 PM »

I have a Canon EF 70-200 f/4 L and a 5DmkII. I've used this setup regularly for awhile now, and I've come across something I can't quite explain. I recently shot this bridge in Oregon. I used a sturdy tripod (Manfrotto ballhead/tripod combo), so stability isn't an issue. Still, several of these images came out much less sharp than I've been used to seeing from this lens. It looks like motion blur to me, but like I said, I was using a sturdy tripod. I shot at f/8, and even one of the images at f/11 had this same issue. Shutter speed was 1/20 and ISO was 125, and autofocus was directly on the front of the bridge itself.  I can't imagine this lens is suddenly misfocusing so badly.

I'm at a loss. I ~thought~ I had all three legs on steady ground, but of course anything is possible, and it's possible one of them may have been in some soft ground, slowly sinking during that shutter time. I just don't think that's the case, though. I don't have any other explanations than this. Like I said, I'm used to getting much sharper photos with this lens.  I thought I would throw this question out to the many qualified photogs on here. I'm not a beginner, I'm just not sure what happened. Thanks in advance for your helpful comments and suggestions.  I'm posting an unedited, straight-from-lightroom- image.  You can pixel peep at the full version size here. (2.4MB file)

8

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Question about BH used dept

« on: February 24, 2013, 10:54:31 PM »

Apologies if this post is in the wrong forum. I'm getting ready to get a used film slr from the BH used department, and I was just wondering if that y'all's experience was with that venue. Is that protection plan worth adding? Thanks in advance for whatever advice you have.

9

Lighting / Question about lighting ratios

« on: February 19, 2013, 11:20:30 PM »

I have two strobes set up, each angles 45 degrees horizontally from the subject. Assuming no ambient light, if I shoot one  at 1/4 power, and the second at 1/8, is that a 1:2 ratio?  I'm assuming it is.

If I shoot one strobe at 1/4 power, and the second at 1/16, is that a 1:3 ratio?

Sorry for the ignorance, I just wanted to make sure I understood that concept correctly. Thanks in advance for your help.

10

Software & Accessories / How do you pack your filters around?

« on: February 15, 2013, 12:31:00 PM »

I'm not a big filter guy, but I do have some MCP's and ND filters in various strengths and sizes that I pack around. Probably 8 in all.  Their individual cases/holders take up quite a bit of room in my Lowepro 400 AW. Is there an alternate way to pack these around where they won't get scratched, and are easily accessible, while reducing the amount of space they take up? Thanks in advance for your help.

11

EOS Bodies - For Stills / 5DmkII and Live View

« on: January 06, 2013, 09:27:57 PM »

So I was using my 5DmkII tonight and shooting in Live View at ISO 160. When I imported into Lightroom, it said ISO 6400. Is this an adjustment that LV makes? Is there something I can do in-camera to correct it? Thanks for your help.

12

EOS Bodies - For Stills / How to price my gear?

« on: November 23, 2012, 04:58:59 PM »

I moved up from a Rebel XSi to a 5DmkII about a year ago. I had planned on keeping it around for a second body, but so far it's just been sitting in the drawer with little to no use. I figured I might as well unload it on somebody to start my fund for my next L lens.

How do I go about pricing this stuff? I've got the body, the kit lens, a couple of batteries, USB cord, even the book (I never read it). I would think it would appeal to somebody looking for a good entry level dslr kit who doesn't want to pay the going rate for the current Rebel kit at CostCo. I've looked around a little on eBay, but there seems to be a pretty wide range of prices there. Any thoughts on how to go about this? Thanks in advance for your advice. 

13

Lenses / Advice for upcoming portrait shoot

« on: October 28, 2012, 11:40:38 AM »

There's not really a section here for technique advice in the CR forums, so I thought I would just post this here. I know there are plenty of CR members with the experience to help me deal with this situation.

I just signed a new client up for a senior portrait shoot. She's a great kid and has a bright future (I've known her since elementary school).  The concern I have doing her portraits is her weight: She's quite heavy. What are some pointers to keep in mind so that I don't accentuate her size? Obviously, I'm not going to be able to turn her into a Heidy, but what can I do to make her look her best? I'm guessing that I need to keep in mind my lens selection (I go from 17-40, 50, and 70-200mm focal ranges) as well as camera angles. What kind of advice do you have for me?  Thanks in advance for your helpful suggestions and comments.

14

Lenses / AI Focus tracking issue, or user error?

« on: October 26, 2012, 09:32:34 PM »

I shot this with a 5DmkII and a 70-200mm f/4 L, AF AI Servo mode. As you can tell, the image is focused just behind the runner, yet I had the focal point zeroed in on the runner's chest the entire time. Otherwise, the lens autofocuses really well. Is it me, or my gear? Should I plan on focusing just in front of the runner to compensate for AF lag?

Granted, my body/lens combo is suited more for landscapes than it is high school football. The easy answer here is to say "get a 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS", but that ain't gonna happen any time soon.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts. EXIF data is listed just below the image. See the largest file size for more detail if you need to.


Touchdown! by Rick.Scheibner, on Flickr

EXIF:
Exposure   0.001 sec (1/800)
Aperture   f/4.0
Focal Length   200 mm
ISO Speed   500
Exposure Bias   0 EV

15

Lighting / Sports photo question

« on: October 17, 2012, 11:55:00 AM »

This seems like a pretty big off-camera flash to use for an NBA game, especially so because it doesn't appear to be modified/softened in any way. Isn't that uncommon for sports photos, especially for something as high profile as the NBA?