The Photography Thread

[Zansho]

Diffusion is handy when you want a soft look, but if you know how to bounce and use a bounce card, diffusion is hardly even worth talking about. Granted, on a little bitty onboard flash, they do tend to have a "deer in headlights" look about them, but that's more due to the proximity of the flash to the camera (so close to the lens), than the power of it. I generally laugh at the folks who get those Gary Fong Light Spheres (this shitty thing - http://bit.ly/asKxaY) because all that modifier is doing is spreading your light 360 degrees all over the place, forcing you to amp up your flash's power and WASTE it. The bounce card helps to direct the light where you want it to go, and can even put in a nice square catchlight in your subjects eyes.

That bounce card you have is perfect, Tyche. I have several of my own, some with gold inserts and silver inserts (hi2u aluminum foil!) for either a more warmer or more contrasty look.

[Tyche]

I'll be honest, I almost bought a Fong lightsphere, don't remember what exactly led me to not buy it, probably the litany of terrible reviews.

Ever use an Omnibounce?

[Headspace]

blegh, that was exhausting. And it wasn't a sorority, but a society of education majors/future teachers, so that kinda sucked.

I tried to make due with what I had, my dad let me use a hot shoe flash, but it was older than I was, and the lighting was god awful, so I tried to make up for it with what I could. I'll see how the photos came out, I purposely shot underexposed because I can fix that in CameraRaw.

[Zansho]

I'll be honest, I almost bought a Fong lightsphere, don't remember what exactly led me to not buy it, probably the litany of terrible reviews.

Ever use an Omnibounce?

Yeah, with very mixed results. Problem with that is it reduces your flash's output by about maybe a stop, which already robs it of any precious power it needs to bounce effectively - especially if you have high ceilings. It's OK if you have low ceilings, or if you're relatively close to your subject, but I still prefer to old school it and reduce my flash's output to make it more effective than put something in front of it. My main reason is that I like to have a bit MORE light than I need, that way if I need to dial it down, I can.

I'm more of a fan of making modifiers that help INCREASE your flash's output - like DIY beauty dishes, for example. I made one using a silver mixing bowl from a restaurant supply store, couple L brackets from Home Depot and some creative cutting with a dremel, and voila, beauty dish!

Result is here:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4124/...0d17a074_b.jpg

You're welcome to look at a few bits of my photos at my flicker! http://www.flickr.com/photos/innerlightcreations/

[Fhqwghads]

Captured a pretty cool view of the moon tonight. Probably should have used some bracketing to stitch the moon in there that wasn't over-exposed, but meh. I found the color and texture of the clouds to be the most interesting thing anyway.

http://www.adamlphotography.com/Phot...9_A6qBo-XL.jpg

[Fhqwghads]

We got the first snow of the season today, and I took a nice macro image that I thought turned out pretty good:

http://www.adamlphotography.com/Phot...50_2UCUE-O.jpg

[Kenshiin]

So my wife and I are ready to make the plunge and get a DSLR and I have a few questions. We're heading up today to feel out the different cameras but with just looking online I'm leaning towards the T1i but she wants to get the T2i.

1. Will I feel buyers remorse for not spending the extra $150 or so to get the next step up. The T1i wont get outdated that fast will it?

2. Should I be looking into getting one of those kits with the extra lens, bag, and maybe a tripod? Or, should I just stick with the camera and standard lens that it usually comes with?

3. We're not big video people but enjoy taking short videos clips of the kids that we can upload to youtube and show the family. Both cameras would be able to handle this, right?

4. Where should I be looking to buy my camera and maybe accessories from?

[Tyche]

1. No. T1i isn't old, and it's a fine camera.
2. No, buy your stuff separately unless you can pick and choose which lens to package it with and save money.
3. T1i doesn't do 1080p well. Does 720p and under fine though. I think the T2i will do 1080p @ 30fps
4. bhphotovideo.com, adorama.com, canon loyalty program (best bet for buying a DSLR body) (I think the T2i kit is less than $600 refurb'd through canon), photography-on-the.net forums (used).

[Kenshiin]

Thanks for the answers Tyche. I have always tried to stay away from buying refurb because I feel I can't trust the people who had the item before me. What is the general consensus on refurb cameras? We're not going to be doing any professional shooting so would we be ok with sticking with the kit lens or should we look into getting just a body and buy a lens separate?

[Nightbreed]

Refurbs are thoroughly inspected before resale and come with a warranty. I bought everything I own used on POTN forum, everything has come to me in near mint condition and prices are very good.

[Kenshiin]

Alright after looking at the different cameras in the store and doing some more research I decided to go with the T1i, but I have a couple more questions. I'm leaning towards the refurb and would like to take advantage of the CLP.

1. If I do the CLP can I trade in any old Canon camera to get the 20% discount? Does it need to have the box?

2. If I trade it in can I only buy from the Canon site directly or can I buy from Adorama as well?

3. If I buy refurbished it looks like I can only get a 90 day warranty from Canon or a 1 year warranty from Adorama. Is that going to be enough? 90 days is a little scary on a refurb it seems.

4. After playing around in the store I found that I need to get a 55-250 lens in addition to the 18-55 but I'm not sure which one to get. Can you recommend one for me that does the job at a good price?

1. Any canon camera that is broke and has a serial number. Point and shoots are fine.

2. Neither, you have to call the CLP directly.

3. 90 days is fine. It gives you time to check the shutter count. If it breaks after 90 days, it was probably something you did.

4. The canon 55-250 f4-5.6 IS is fine. I used it before I bought a 70-200 f4L. I actually didn't use it as often as I though I would. Also, pick up a 50 f1.8. It's cheap, fast, and pretty damn sharp in most cases.

[Tyche]

Oops, I accidentally edited your post instead of quoting. My bad, but there's your answers.

[Moosey]

Some pics from a Meet Up group event I went to this past weekend at Ft. DeSoto Park at sunrise. Taken with Canon Powershot SD940 IS.

Spoiler: show

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oF5tQ2SyK8w/TP...0/IMG_3715.JPG
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oF5tQ2SyK8w/TP...2/IMG_3716.JPG
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oF5tQ2SyK8w/TP...6/IMG_3730.JPG

[Zansho]

I cannot stress this enough for beginning DSLR buyers. GO PLAY WITH THE CAMERA BODIES YOU WANT/ARE THINKING OF PURCHASING. If you have big mitts for hands, you might not like the Rebel series, or the Tseries at all, as they're fairly small cameras, even with a grip.

Lenses and flashes are more important than camera bodies now. Trust me, I'm still shooting with a 40D and a 5D (even though I have a 7D as well), and they still serve me well. Camera bodies will come and go, but lenses and flashes will be with you forever. Buy good quality lenses - the kit lenses are shit.

Technology has gotten to the point where megapixel size doesn't really matter much anymore. Unless you're going to do something ridiculous like print a billboard or a huge 30x40 print, anything more than 10-12 MP is overkill for the average amateur photographer, and can actually be detrimental to your image quality if you have a crop sensor.

Go play, touch, feel and find out how you fit with the camera bodies. The Canon 40Ds are fine cameras, I love mine and it's great. If you can find a good condition 5D,or even (hope you get lucky) an EOS1D series, it will probably slap the shit out of a Tseries camera in terms of image quality. Full frame is something of beauty in digital photography nowadays.

Nikon, Canon, are the main frontrunners, but Sony and Olympus as well as Pentax make some nice cameras too.

[miokomioko]

From my experience:

Canon = slightly better glass (optics) but old, non-EOS lenses are obsolete.
Nikon = all Nikon lenses will fit all Nikon bodies.
Mamiya/Hasselblad = $uperior

I would ignore all other manufacturers if you're serious about quality (pentax/olympus/sony/etc). If you're indifferent and admittedly amateur/starting out, buy the most expensive camera/lenses/kit your photography equipment budget can afford. Just don't be blinded by resolution (megapixels) unless you plan on printing 300dpi images 16x20" or larger and can afford media to hold your 50mb RAW files. Oh yeah, never buy a body that doesn't record as RAW... do they even still make DSLRs without a RAW format?

P.S. Unless you really know how to backlight + flash-fill, ignore built in on-board flashes. Garbage.

[BerenTebogo]

So I just had this entire post typed up and lost it. FML.

tl;dr: brand new CCD camera SBG ST-7XE (I think) on a Meade LX200 16in scope that a grand total of 3 people have ever used, and last night was only the third time it was ever used. Artifacts started showing up in the pictures and never went away. My prof, the grad student, and myself have no applicable knowledge about these things and given the extremely high value of these items we don't want to mess around with them unless we know what to do.

Here is the first picture 300x mag 12 seconds - no artifacts
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._4707510_n.jpg

This is a later picture 300x mag 10 seconds - artifacts
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._2929486_n.jpg

Once the artifacts (the black objects) showed up they never went away and given the 10 degree weather we didn't explore it too much further last night. We tried to swing the scope around a bit and the artifacts never shifted position.

Any ideas / tips / hints / anything at all anyone can say about this would be helpful. I have ZERO experience with this whatsoever but if I can be proactive and try to solve the problem it'll reflect well on me to my adviser and help me land some research for myself in the future, lol. Thus, I beg you, bgphoto, HALP.

Edit: The artifacts are actually far more annoying than they seem in that picture.

[miokomioko]

I'm almost positive that's just a very filthy CCD sensor. Those long exposures while pointing up are pretty much ideal conditions for dust to settle on it. I'd do some very gentle canned-air sprays while exposing the sensor (lens off + long/bulb exposure) and see if that helps.

[Zansho]

+1 on the filthy sensor. Canned air is ok, just be super careful about how you do it - no long bursts like PSSSSSHHHHH!!!!! - just quick ones.

And long exposures will create TONS of noise in your images. You don't need a long exposure to correctly expose the moon - it's essentially reflecting the sun's light - I'll let you figure out the exposure for that one.

And given the cost of your fancy new equipment, I'd take it to a reputable camera shop and tell them to clean the sensor for you - shouldn't cost more than 40 bucks.

[Fhqwghads]

First off, fuck you Sath for having access to such an awesome piece of gear, and for having a CCD on it too. That's some serious cash right there. Next I would contact SBig and ask for their advice. Shit's too expensive to fire off canned air on it. You ruin it by cleaning with a method they don't recommend and you might void any warranty it has.

Also, did you happen to use the process of elimination to determine if it was the sensor or the scope? Pop the CCD off and point the scope at the moon and see if you see the gunk through the eyepiece. If you do, it's the scope and not the sensor. If you don't, it's the sensor. Either way, contact Meade or SBig for the best method of cleaning. Waaay too much money at stake.

P.S. Kicks ass you're into astronomy. I've got a Celestron C9.25" on the newer CGEM mount for astrophotography. I use my Nikon D700 on a T-adapter though. No way I'm paying for a CCD when I already have a nice DSLR, even though I get neither the exposure length nor the sensitivity of a CCD.

Edit:
Oh, here's a question: did the scope and sensor move from a warm indoor space to the outdoor 10 degree weather? If so, it could be moisture. You typically need to give time for a scope and camera to become acclimated to the environment before you use it, otherwise the cooling causes distortion, fog, etc. Does that Meade have a dew removal system? Might need to turn it on if so.

[BerenTebogo]

+1 on the filthy sensor. Canned air is ok, just be super careful about how you do it - no long bursts like PSSSSSHHHHH!!!!! - just quick ones.

And long exposures will create TONS of noise in your images. You don't need a long exposure to correctly expose the moon - it's essentially reflecting the sun's light - I'll let you figure out the exposure for that one.

And given the cost of your fancy new equipment, I'd take it to a reputable camera shop and tell them to clean the sensor for you - shouldn't cost more than 40 bucks.

It is the andromeda galaxy...lol. and the eq belongs to the university.

@fhq: it is on a motorized mount and is stored year round in an outdoor observatory. Camera is kept locked in my prof's office.