Messages

136

Canon General / Re: Why did you choose Canon?

« on: January 31, 2013, 08:19:10 PM »

I had prev used Canon compact cameras and found them easy to use. Moving to DSLRs was an easy choice and one I never regretted!

137

PowerShot / Re: New PowerShots for CP+, no DSLRs.

« on: January 30, 2013, 10:54:10 AM »

So glad I bought my 7D this very day last year, it hasn't been replaced yet. Makes me feel good that it still has some life!! Last thing I need is to feel jealous when people start saying how awesome the 7D mkII is and why you need to sell your camera ... etc etc.   

Not that I would sell it, it's just too flippin good!

 

138

Canon General / Re: Is it worth it...for me?

« on: January 30, 2013, 10:43:09 AM »

I agree with sanfran. Some of my best shots were with my cheapest gear. You only NEED to upgrade if there is a specific reason to do so. I have still got my little nifty fifty and use it because it still works and rarely lets me down! If you can get the job done with the tools you got why change em?   

139

Third Party Manufacturers / Re: Sigma Announces New 30mm f/1.4 for APS-C

« on: January 30, 2013, 10:26:59 AM »

Certainly a step in the right direction for Sigma. That 30 needed an update. I'm still in need of a 35 or there abouts full frame compatibile lens and still thinking about the new f/2 IS vs the Siggy f/1.4 , though if this new 30 might be nice on my 7D. Hmmm 

140

Pricewatch Deals / Re: What is the best place to sell your equipment?

« on: January 23, 2013, 07:06:01 PM »

I have sold on amazon marketplace. The fees are high but more chance of a quick sale. Very easy to do, i even managed to sell on amazon.jp, for small items that people buy regularly its good but specialist stuff won't go so fast. I sold a 320 ex for almost same price I bought it but lost money on my 10-22 that was unexpected but my fault as I wanted a quick sale.

I have an ebay account but I just don't trust ebayers that much and I don't like the anxiety of bids. Though they have a buy it now option but you need to have 10 stars before you get that. Not good for new sellers.
You could build up your rep by selling small unimportant stuff like CDs and DVDs and then move on to camera lenses etc.

There was a new site called Sell canon gear or something, werent they advertising on CR? Does anyone know what happened with that? They gave me five bucks just for listing! Didnt sell jack but the fiver was nice!

141

Lenses / Re: Canon EF 24-70 f/4L IS Coming [CR3]

« on: January 04, 2013, 11:45:38 AM »

The newer IS system and near-macro capabilty is a big usability plus

no it´s not really imo... the macro functionality is very limited.

if you only have this lens with you then yeah... better then nothing... at least for stationary macro objects.

Yeah I'd agree with that, the macro mode wasn't anything special. the 77mm front end blocks a lot of light too. And something about the macro lock switch I just didnt like. Its not a real switch, you kinda have to push and hold. A dumb two hand job.

142

Site Information / Re: How does one change camera appearing under the poster's name?

« on: January 04, 2013, 11:37:05 AM »

You have to earn it! 

143

Lenses / Re: Canon EF 24-70 f/4L IS Coming [CR3]

« on: January 02, 2013, 05:33:05 AM »

Where were you able to find a 24-70 F4 to play with ?

I thought they weren't coming out until later on this month ?

Digital Camera Warehouse in Australia says in the next week or so they will have stock.

I live in Japan, but yeah even I was kinda surprised. The release date was 31st dec.

The store was Top Camera in Sakae district, Nagoya btw. Pretty sure Bic Camera will have it too.

144

Lenses / Re: Canon EF 24-70 f/4L IS Coming [CR3]

« on: January 01, 2013, 03:56:30 AM »

Had a play about with the 24-70 f/4 IS today at a camera store. It feels a bit like a 24-105 but a bit more plasticky. The zoom ring felt quite stiff and didn't move smoothly, could be because its new but it had a courseness to it that i didnt like. There was no card in 6D test camera but from the preview screen the images looked quite sharp. IS was good down to 1/8th second at 70mm! Though i couldnt zoom in to the preview to check sharpness. Macro was fun, I can see this lens being quite popular with 6D users.

145

Technical Support / Re: Printing large images - help needed!!

« on: December 29, 2012, 02:22:45 PM »

Wait a minute, I assume these programs for enlarging aren't free? Photoshop alone can't do the job? I was worried about the big one now. Maybe I'm out of my depth on this one.   

146

Technical Support / Re: Printing large images - help needed!!

« on: December 29, 2012, 02:16:50 PM »

Thanks, I will try and get info about the printer. Great advice about size fixer etc. Need to look into that one day! I know squat about printing btw. I never got round to learning about it, seems overly complex. Wish i could just hand of a jpeg and be done with it!

You shouldn't have any trouble making those enlargements with your files, providing the quality of your files is impeccable. If they aren't tack sharp or if there are any other flaws, those flaws will only be magnified. But if you're starting with a very high quality source, you can go quite large. I once made a 400cm tall print from a Canon 1Ds file (11 megapixels) and it turned out quite well.

I would echo the advice about working closely with the printer and you can do that even if they're in another country. The printer typically knows exactly what they need to produce good results. Talk to them directly. Don't rely on your client to be the middleman.

If at all possible, help your client choose the printer. Use the internet to find a list of printers close to the area where the print will end up and call them. Even in a short phone call, you can often get a good handle on whether or not the printer knows what they're doing. Call several, but give your client a finalist or two to go visit.

I do this kind of work regularly and in every case, I've provided the printer with a file that I have enlarged myself. I go back to the original RAW file and do a new conversion, turning off all sharpening. If you don't, the enlargement may have ugly halos. I save this conversion as a 16-bit TIFF and run it through an enlargement program called SizeFixer. It's slow – even on a fast machine, the enlargement can take a few hours – but it contains profiles for specific digital cameras. Use the profile for your camera and run the enlargement at the maximum quality setting to the file size that the printer specified.

If the printer is going to apply the final sharpening, I give them the output from SizeFixer. If they're looking for more of a final file to print from, I will over enlarge through SizeFixer (if the printer asks for 240 dpi, I'll enlarge to 300 or 360 dpi), apply some sharpening, and then reduce it to 240 dpi.

But, I can't stress this enough, try to work directly with the printer to ensure you're giving them the best file for the job. You're going to be judged on the final output, so you and the printer need to work as a team to ensure the client is happy.

147

Technical Support / Re: Printing large images - help needed!!

« on: December 29, 2012, 12:29:32 PM »

The single best piece of advice anybody possibly can give you is to find a quality print shop you trust, to prepare the files so they look their best on your computer, to hand them over to the print shop without mucking about with them yourself, and to communicate with the shop what it is you want.

Different enlargement techniques work best for different printers, wokflows, and more. Your print shop should know what works best for their setup; that's mostly what you're paying them for.

And printing that large is certainly possible with the cameras you describe. If you'd like a preview of what to expect, you can print a full-size crop on your own printer. First scale the image without resizing or interpolating to the final print dimensions; this will decrease the PPI. Then, crop or set the canvas size to your printer's paper size (obviously without scaling). Tape the print to the wall and stand as far back as your expected viewing distance. If you need to stick your nose in the print, you might have a problem, but, with those dimensions, at a few feet or so it should look gorgeous.

Your other option, much much more expensive for a one-off but cheaper in the long run, is to either buy the equipment to do it yourself or use one of those no-frills print shops like the ones in warehouse retail or Internet-only storefronts. You should expect to make many experimental prints before learning what does and doesn't work. If you're going to do a lot of this sort of thing, it's the only way to go...but not if you're only going to do a few every now and again.

Cheers,

b&

Thank you for the reply, i will do a test run using a local print shop. Great idea. However final printing will be down to the client, who lives in a different country so i wont have much control over the result.

148

Technical Support / Printing large images - help needed!!

« on: December 29, 2012, 11:56:02 AM »

Hey guys, I need your combined wisdom and expertise on this issue - I've been asked to provide two images to a client who wants to put them between 2 panes of glass for a wall mount. The size of the images would be as follows

bathroom : 210 cm x 185 cm

corridor : 263 cm x 198 cm and 247 cm x 198 cm (its in two pieces).

See pictures that I was sent.

I mostly have images taken with 18 MP cameras (550D and 7D), and a few with a 21 MP (5D II).

What resolution is best for this type of thing? Is it even possible to print something that big with 21 MP?? I assume there must be a way. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

149

Lenses / Re: Canon 35mm f/2 IS Review

« on: December 29, 2012, 04:07:13 AM »

Hmmm .... Not the best review in the world. I think he mentioned the price about 15 times, we got it mate!!!  Though where I live the Canon 35 f/2 IS is about $100 cheaper than the Sigma. He also talked a lot about the vignetting, then went on to say it can easily fixed in post. So why mention it over and over? That is a known issue with all wide lenses.  Also I didn't like his bokeh test, what the heck was that? Surely this time of year there are Christmas lights all over the place??

 

150

Lenses / Re: What lenses should I take to India?

« on: December 29, 2012, 01:43:10 AM »

I would take a 24-105 and a 50 1.4, maybe a small flash if you have it like a 430 ex, some filters and you should be all set. I use my 50 for days where I just want to capture people shots. The combo of general walkaround and fast prime gives some variety to your shots.

And dont forget to just relax and enjoy your trip, too often i get bogged down in gear thoughts and foget to enjoy the view!