The Photography Thread

[Tyche]

The framing was a pleasant surprise. I didn't know I was snapping the people on the dock.

[zoobernut]

My first try doing fireworks photography.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._5877131_n.jpg


http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._7093192_n.jpg


http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._2017514_n.jpg


http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._3779239_n.jpg


http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-...36_13171_n.jpg


http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-...0_834207_n.jpg


http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._3591788_n.jpg



http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._7962898_n.jpg

[Tyche]

I'm looking to buy a flash unit for around a budget of $200. Any other legitimate options other than the canon 430ex II?

[mootsfox]

I'm looking to buy a flash unit for around a budget of $200. Any other legitimate options other than the canon 430ex II?

SB-600.

You'll need to sell your Canon crap too though.

[Tyche]

Then I'd have to resale all the nikon crap for when I get a 5d (mark IV by the time my wife allows me to buy one).

[wipers]

Very nice fireworks. Reminds me of being drunk and watching fireworks lol.

[Chio]

zoobernut,

What f/stop and shutter speed for those images?

[zoobernut]

Off the top of my head I was at f3.5 and I was switching between 10 second, 20 second, and 30 second exposures.

You can see a couple of them are quite blurry due to camera shake because we were so close to where the fireworks were being set off the shock waves of some of the bigger fireworks would shake the camera.

Next year I am going to try my 50mm f1.4 and see if I can get some different effects.

[Chio]

I see. Were you using a tripod? Usually those carbon fiber ones should help but they are expensive.

[zoobernut]

Yeah I was using a tripod. I have the Manfrotto 055XPROB. I was also using a remote trigger. I could have hung a weight from the bottom of the tripod to help with stability but even that might not have worked. Some of those fireworks created pretty big shock waves that you could feel.

[Doombear]

Some recent shots from a birthday party weekend.

http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/x...Y/MB_364BW.jpg

http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/x...Y/MB_354BW.jpg

http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/x...Y/MB_365BW.jpg

Nothing special, just dragged the shutter a bit with a flash clearly. Ya know, I knew it would be happening eventually and it is... I need a DSLR. My D-Lux 4 is an amazing little guy and it will serve its purpose for some time to come.

I have several months to work out what I want and the budget is probably right around $1k or so... The missus has a 400D and in addition to the kit lens I made her get the 50mm 1.8 so that has me leaning towards Canon, if for no other reason than because that is two lenses I will have. That leaves me some room if i go Body only.

Possible 60D announcement next week (my fingers have long uncrossed) is an option, otherwise I am thinking the 50D or possibly even the 40D body.

I will keep on checking things out, but I just miss the versatility of interchangeable lenses. I miss my shallow DOF! Not impossible as you can see from a shot i took earlier this week...

http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/x...NY/MB1_485.jpg

just not ideal. Anyway, we shall see what the camera world has in store for me over the next few months. In the meantime putting together some DIY studio equipment.

[Zee]

I'm a newb and haven't gotten around to going to any interesting places to find things to shoot, but have a couple pictures of seagulls.

Spoiler: show

http://imgur.com/MW4Ek.jpg

http://imgur.com/UB9T3.jpg

[TStupified]

Hey, I was actually looking a thread like this like 2 days ago and now it's here! Even though I only have rather cheap pocket digicam and the cam of my phone available, I'd still say photography is one of my favorite hobbies. Anyways here's a few of pics taken by me. Also sorry for the HORRIBLE quality and size, I'm linking them from facebook.

First three taken with Samsung S1060 Digital Camera
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-a...29594_6137.jpg

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._6147644_n.jpg

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._8051064_n.jpg

..and the last one on the camera of my old Nokia N76..
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-a...29606_2071.jpg
..still quite proud of how that shot ended up anyway, was very lucky to capture the moment when the dusk looked like the world was coming to it's end.

Also, apologies for the rather boring dusk theme.

[Doombear]

First of all, anyone have any thoughts on the recently (finally...) announced Canon 60D? I am a bit more frustrated now with my having to decide between a 40, 50 or 60D body in a few months.

DPReview's Preview of the 60D

And some recent 'thumbnails'.

http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/x...MB1_644sml.jpg

http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/x...MB1_633sml.jpg

[Zansho]

Don't get too caught up on all the latest models - first, you need to ask yourself, what do I want/need the camera for, and what, if any print sizes do I plan to make?

While having the latest and the greatest is all well and good, what's more important than anything else, is having good glass (lenses). You can have the best camera body in the world, but if your lens is shit, there is no helping the image that will result. The second best thing that helps your images is a good flash that you can control manually and can bounce off of surfaces, but I still stand by the "good glass" comment as the thing to focus on.

Invest in a decent body - especially since this seems to be your first DSLR - a 40D (it is my backup body) is plenty good enough for most people, and you can get a refurbished one for a good price off of adorama.com. If you want higher MP and will print bigger than a 16x20, go for the 50/60D or even the 7D (which I have as my primary body). Research good lenses - and remember, expensive does not always mean good - there are some offerings by sigma and tamron that are very competitive with some "L" series lenses (the best lenses in Canon's lineup) and to most people, you couldn't tell the difference.

For example, I have canon's 24-70 2.8L lens, and while it's great, my Tamron 24-75 2.8 (backup lens) performs pretty close to the canon version. They're about 900 bucks in price difference though, think of it as getting a Haubergeon (Tamron) over a Haubergeon +1 (Canon "L").

[Doombear]

Hehe, you just said Haubergeon in the Photography thread. Well done sir, well done.

I do have my eyes on the 40/50D ideally, Canon over Nikon only because as I said earlier we already have a 400D with a 50mm 1.8 (and kit obviously). I suppose it is going to really come down to what is available when I am able to purchase. Realistically this won't be until January or February, so I will obviously have to see what the 60D does to the prices of those. I wonder how much harder to find a 50D new it will be. I can't imagine that the 60D is a true replacement, as Canon has stated it was in the press release... but again, we shall see.

You have pretty much brought up the main decision I am looking at. Do I want to save a few dollars with the 40D and possibly the 50D and then leave myself some money for a decent lens or Flash/strobes, or do I want to aim higher and just make do with the two lenses i have now (though I hardly consider the kit lens a lens sometimes...).

Thanks for the input Zansho, greatly appreciated.

Actually, I suppose another factor should be that I post process 60-90% of my images, often shooting with that in mind.

[mootsfox]

Canon or Nikon doesn't matter.

Generally you want to buy what feels best, what works for you, what you can afford, and lastly, what your friends/family use (so you can be taught/borrow lenses and parts).

I personally can't use Canon. Everything feels awkward on them to me. My cousin however, who shoots professionally, uses and enjoys Canon.

[Doombear]

Ya know as I read that, and actually thought about it... I don't know that I have ever spent a significant amount of time with a Nikon. The cameras I have spent the most time with in my life:

Olympus OM-10 (first SLR, it was my mothers).
My trusty Konica FT-1, served me well in my early Photography classes.
Asahi Pentax 67 - I used this as often as I could, it was the schools though, and have always meant to get one.

And finally, spent about 6-8 months shooting with a Canon EOS A2e (and loved it).

In between those there were several rentals during my time working at a few Pro Photo shops around the country, mostly medium format cameras, like the Mamiya 645 and 6. Loved those as well. I always wanted to shoot with an Nikon F5 but never have.

I guess I will be taking a look at a few comparisons. My wife has had her 400D for a few years now, and there is a comfort there in the design that I am used to. I really just have been shooting more with my old 35mms and felt it was finally time to 'grow up' and get a DSLR of my own. I love my D-Lux 4 as it is just outstanding in low-light, and obviously very portable and has great IQ for its size. It covers video, with 1280x720 (not that I use it) so that feature is not really appealing to me in a DSLR. I have a more than capable printer that I use for prints, and while it is hardly a professional printer (Pixma ip4700) it does well with what I am looking for. For everything else there is Adorama or MpixPro.

For those of you that use both a 40D and 50D, can you explain a bit more what you like about one over the other? Same for any of you using both a D90 and D300S or equivalents. Just curious to hear what you like so much about your Main and Backup bodies.

Thanks! Oh, and I am also curious to hear what thoughts any of you have on the recently announced Sonys. The A55 and... there was another i think?

EDIT: Ah the second was the Sony A33. Forgot to mention one other thing as well, I know... shit all about Compact Flash. I know that the card that my wife uses in her 400D annoys the shit out of me. I am so used to SD cards. Opinions there? I know that the 7D, 40 and 50D all use CF. Only the newer Rebel and then 60D use SD. -.- I think this is likely a silly thing for me to really let become a factor though, just curious what everyone else's opinions were.

[Blabj]

SD for show, CF for a pro. Actually, make that a firewire tether for pros.

Been assisting on all sorts of photoshoots lately, big name UK catalog stuff mostly. It's surprising how quickly high turn around, standard quality fashion photography can put you off ever touching a camera again. Making the move from lowly photographer's assistant (read: making cups of tea, running to the store and moving heavy lighting equipment) to digital assistant (twiddling settings on Capture One all day until the photographer changes his mind again and decides he wants a different look, forcing you to go back and change all your settings from the last 4 days.)

They call it Fashion, and people tell me they're envious, but the grass is always greener...

Also, just to chip into the current conversation, we use Canon and Hasselblads where I work, though the majority of stuff is shot on Canon 5D MK.IIs and 1Ds MK.IIIs. Hasselblads are nice up until you have to actually get the images off the camera and all of a sudden they suck to work with. 60meg chips, nearly 200mb individual file sizes... Shit sucks.

For lenses, don't buy primes unless you know you want very low DOF or are shooting particular stuff (such as studio work) where you can set up your shot and have a lot of room to reframe. A zoom is much more practical for every day stuff, and you can get very good ones (such as the tokina 11-16 and the f4 24-105 L) that will suit for much of the stuff you'd encounter on a day to day basis. My suggestion to anyone buying an APS-C camera would be the two lenses mentioned before, and the f4 70-200 also. Cameras have such good ISO nowadays that f3.5 and f4 lenses are basically the same as 2.8s, but nearly half the price. The loss of DOF is barely noticeable, and can still create beautiful effects.

And one final word of advice: get a film camera and shoot a few rolls with that. You'll learn all you need to know from playing with a film camera for a week, and you'll have a greater appreciation for digital and the things you can achieve with this wondrous new platform.

[Doombear]

Sounds like pure hell... sorry to hear that Blabj. I imagine it is good experience as shitty as it is though yeah? Curious, why is CF 'pro'? Is it more reliable? Faster I/O with computer, or what? Also, i know there are $100-$200 "Pro Extreme" CF cards out there, are THOSE the reason it is Pro? I only ask because I am truly curious. They always seemed slow and bulky in comparison to me.