dan_vidal
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Posts posted by dan_vidal
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The wonderful thing about having a full-frame DSLR is that you get your wide angles back that those of us in 1.6 land sorely miss sometimes.
I second the suggestion that you save your cash for the 16-35 2.8L. The extra stop is worth it, and the sharpness of this lens is superb, probably amongst the best I've seen on any Canon lens. I hire one occasionally for my 30D, and the results are phenomenal. I would buy one, but I do a lot of low-light shooting, and the lack of a stabilizer made me decide in another direction (EF-S 17-55 2.8), but since it is EF-S, it doesn't apply to your situation.
Actually, what I'd suggest while you're waiting is to find a local rental shop and hire the lens when you specifically need it, until you are able to buy it.
On a camera such as the 5D, I wouldn't really consider third-party lenses. The quality of the files this camera generates can only be properly exploited by genuine Canon glass.
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The 17-35 is great if you can find it cheap. It's not made anymore, so finding it used isn't an issue. Cheap is, and if it is cheap, there's often an issue. There's on on KEH now for $645US (?341) but it's listed as having a dent in the filter ring. I'd link it but KEH's new site design makes that tough.
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Like I said, it stays in place but it's not "attached" anymore. I might be daring and swap it out myself. I've cracked the 580 open before to realign the zoom head. If I do it, I'll document it :)
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This is funny:
I was shooting an event this weekend and a drunk patron of the venue thought it
would be funny to tug the catchlight card totally out of my 580!
I can still make it work by putting it in upside down, but there is the slight
danger of it falling out and it getting lost.
The question I have is, is it an easy fix I could do? I know I can order the
part, I just don't want to disassemble my 580 (yet again) only to discover it is
a pain.
Moral of the story: When using your 580 off camera, keep it away from drunk,
grabby girls.
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I would gather that as well. I don't see Canon or any other lensmaker making the front element of a lens that expensive, if there's no provision to add a front filter.
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I'd get it into Canon for sure. 7 months is definitely still under warranty. The tube on my 580 blew last year at about the same time, and they covered it no sweat. Even shipped it back to me for free in about a week.
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I must have been the odd one out. I had a 10D shutter go on me in June at 100,000 or so.
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I shoot concerts and nighttime events. IS is a godsend to me, since most of the time, I'm not allowed to use flash, nor would I want to. And using a tripod or even a monopod is out of the question.
There's plenty of light in dark rooms if you know how to exploit it. IS just gives me an extra edge. I could do without it, but it is there and I know how to best utilize it.
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I put <br> after my caption statement.
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I rented a 16-35 this past weekend for some events I was shooting. Definitely one of the most robust and reliable lenses I've shot with. The internal zoom is fantastic, and the weight makes up (in a way) for the lack of IS. I shoot in the dark so IS is important to me :)
<center><img src="http://www.cooljunkie.com/images/contributors/danvidal/galleries/2006_september/2006_september_01/space/017.jpg"></center>
<center>30D, ISO 400, 16mm, f2.8, 1/80th.
<br>
Is it worth the $1300? I would say so. I plan on getting this lens before long, and using it as my mainstay lens for when I shoot events.
</br>
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IS is a wonderful thing. I shoot a lot at night and tend to ignore the 580EX
flash in my back pocket (ST-E2 in the hotshoe), and my 28-135 IS does wonderfully.
I also like utilizing a 15mm Sigma 2.8 for some wide shots of the venues I shoot
in. The downside is, of course, no IS. What I noticed is that Canon's IS
offerings peter out at 17mm, and that lens is an EF-S mount. I shoot with a 30D,
so I can use EF-S, however I'm not 100% confident in it yet until it gets
another few years under it's belt...
With that being said, my curiosity is, why isn't there IS in wide-angle lenses?
What technical hurdle prevents this, or is it just that there's no real market
for such a lens?
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Being that you're shooting a band in a club, is a flash even needed? Unless it's a real bad lighting rig, I never deploy flash when shooting an act in a concert/club environment. A lot of the time, band management will not allow it at all.
But that being said, the ST-E2 is probably the best $200 you'll spend for a Canon accessory.
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I second the medium-format suggestion. Personally I'm a fan of 3:2, I like having a more rectangular frame to work with, but to each his own. With an MF body and the requisite amount of data in the file, you can make your own ratio.
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Closer to 10 I think? I hit it once deliberately the day I got my 10D, and had a 550EX attached. Scared the cat.
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I've seen 10D bodies go for pretty close to $500. If you're on a budget you can get a cheapie lens on ebay for $100 or so. I'd definitely suggest a 10D over a D30. I've used both and the difference is staggering. You're looking at 2 generations difference there.
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The few times I've had to use them, they've been fantastic. I had a 580EX (yes a 580) blow a flash tube in December. I sent it up with a receipt, it was in the system a day or two later, and it showed back up at my office in perfect working order about a week later, no charge to me.
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IS works on static subjects in low light. If the subject moves or you move in excess of what the IS can compensate for, you're out of luck.
You can do "existing light" images no sweat of people, but you need to be able to tell your subjects to remain still if you dip below a certain shutter speed.<div></div>
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I actually fixed the zoom head on my old 550. It was really as simple as moving it back into place...
However, swapping a flashtube out is beyond my toolkit :) ...
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I sent my 580 in for a repair on 12/7/2005 ... the main lamp had
burned itself out prematurely. Fortunately it was under warranty. I
just got it back today. Working great...
Grand total: $0.00 since it was still under warranty.
However, once 580s are out of warranty, the repair for this type of
problem is $125.00 ...
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Well Tuesday ...
From what I gather it is still under warranty and they're willing to honor it.
Just sent it FedEx overnight right now to NJ.
Will keep a running log...
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I think it is still under warranty. Something tells me though that the flash lamp isn't covered by it.
I'm gonna hit up Canon on Monday and get it sent out.
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OK, it looks like the flash lamp itself has burned out prematurely on
my 580EX flash.
How much and how long for a repair?
Thanks!
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ST-E2 rules. "Location Portrait" is the best way to describe a good use for it.
There's a limit to the amount of flashes you can control, something like 4...I don't have the manual for mine in front of me at the moment...
Really great for unique directional lighting too.
Obviously you gotta watch out for lens flare depending on the angle!
<center><img src="http://www.cooljunkie.com/images/contributors/danvidal/galleries/2005_july/2005_july_10/space/028.jpg"></center>
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Byron hit the nail on the head. Back in the day (1997-2001) when I went to school, I didn't let my little Pentax ZX-5n out of my sight. It cost me $290, but $290 was (and still is!) a decent amount of money to me, so I carried it around. Good habits carryover, so I tote my Canon DSLR around with me at all times too. I leave some excess gear in a lockbox at my apt, too.
That being said, your best bet is to bolt down a safe of some sort. 99 percent of dorm room theft is a crime of opportunity. My roommate left the door open once to go get laundry, and when he came back, my Discman that I had left on my bed was gone. He was gone for maybe 5 minutes.
Be suspicious of staff too. Dorm staff have a master key for obvious reasons, so what you should do is change the locks right away....keep the old lock in case the staff finds out though. I mention this, since a friend of mine had his PC stolen over Christmas break one year, and it was determined to be an unscrupulous janitor as the thief.
17-55 vs. 24-70 for Crop Sensor Bodies
in Canon EOS Mount
Posted
The 17-55 lens is probably the best non-L lens I've ever used. It's definitely the tops for a 1.6x body. I wouldn't get a 17-40 for a crop body, simply because it is slow.
Depends on your shooting style though. If you like to shoot wide, then yeah, sell the 24-70.
Some 17-55 samples:
<center><img src=http://www.cooljunkie.com/engine/engine.cgi?idd=1&u=c7oIssV28ldq&command=engine.showImage.show&galleryID=2007-1-1&imageID=34&width=312&height=468></center>
<center>30D, 1/160s, f2.8, ISO 1250, 55mm</center>
<center><img src=http://www.cooljunkie.com/engine/engine.cgi?idd=1&u=dGVsSoKsSxr5&command=engine.showImage.show&galleryID=2007-1-2&imageID=25&width=468&height=312></center>
<center>30D, 1/40s f2.8 ISO 1000, 17mm</center>