ruben leal

Just confirmed, the sync speed for the 5D Mk II seems to be 1/200s. This means the shutter curtains are opened

completely only when you select a Tv speed of 1/200s or lower. When your camera is set to a faster speed, like 1/500s,

the second curtain is already closing before the first curtain is fully opened. (You may google flash synchronization for

further detail). You must also consider a delay when a wireless trigger is used, reducing the effective sync speed, perhaps

in 1/3 to 2/3 stops, in this case down to 1/125s.

Seems like you are exposing a shorter time than the strobe synchro speed of your camera. Could you try using a speed

around 1/125s?

Niels, it is a well known issue that EX flashes won't recycle when used with most slave cells. I believe there is a "hack" to

solve the problem, but read about it years ago, son can't remember where I read it or anything else.

I stand corrected, Mark, I meant the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G ED AF-S Nikkor Wide Angle Zoom, which is a FX (full frame)

lens, which seems to be the only missing lens in JK's list of full frame f/2.8 zoom lenses. I understand he may not need it,

but his arsenal will be incomplete if he doesn't includes it, which seems to be the logic behind this purchase.

J K, I guess you considered it, but I would trade the 16-35mm for a Nikon 12-24mm with an adapter. The 16-35mm II is

my most used lens, followed by the 24-105mm f/4, so I know it's a great landscape lens, but it overlaps with the 24-x

lenses (which is good with my 24-105, as the 16-35 is better on the long end than the 24-105 on the wide end, but that's

not your case), and those 4mm in the wide end are a huge difference.

I would suggest searching for Nadine Ohara's posts on the subject. She used to be the expert on the Wedding forum

helping everyone with that question.

The main difference is how each mode handles reflections, and, I believe, NEVEC.

Lots of practice would be my other suggestion.

We should consider that Sigma may not be focusing (pun intended) on competing against Canon with this lens, just as

Nikon may not be looking for new sales to Canon users with their 24-120mm f/4 VR G. Remember that now Sigma is

designing original lenses for their cameras. Additionally Sigma makes those lenses available to users of other cameras,

but their marketing seems to be focused to the users of the Sigma cameras, and the ability to mount these lenss in all

other cameras is just a convenience for the rest of us. (Again, that's how I see their marketing, I would have to take a look

into their sales to see if that's the true story.)

Dennis, could you share:

- What flashes are you using (at least identify if these are Canon flashes, third party hot-shoe flashes, or studio units)?

- What radio trigger system were you using for the tests?

- The images are JPGs straight out of the camera, or processed RAW files?

- Is there a filter on any of the lenses?

This may be a case of TTL issues combined with in-camera JPG processing and even flare magnified by a dirty lens' front

element/filter, but can't tell without knowing what was involved in this shoot.

A better test image should be a stationary subject and the camera on a tripod, even better shooting with a remote control.

There were so many things in those photos to find out what was supposed to be in focus.

I own an EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 lens that is so misaligned that half side of the image is in focus while the other half is

quite out of focus, kind of a lensbaby. Sent it to CPS for yearly cleaning, and they charged me to correct the alignment

and a problem with the IS, took them almost a couple of months to get the IS spare parts sent to Mexico. Finally I got the

lens back with a new feature: now it was a f/5.6 fixed max aperture lens, and the EXIF shows all the images taken at

135mm, no matter what was the actual focal length. Half the image still is out of focus, but not as bad as it used to be.

Sent it back to CPS and they said alignment was within spec, saying they connected a loose connection to solve the

aperture and EXIF info problem, but not correcting the optical problem. Apparently the cable got loose again, as it jumps

from f/3.5 to f/5.6 and back when moving the lens.

How many times would you send back a lens for that kind of answer, not only from a Canon Service Center, but the CPS

Service Center? I got tired, used it as a pretext to buy a 24-105mm L lens, and lent the 28-135 to my brother...

Ryan, as others already stated, this kind of trip is to be enjoyed, and not to try new gear. I would recomend two things:

1) Replicate what you had in your APS-C system (if you had something in the 15-65mm range with your Rebel, then you

are in the same range with your 5D, if you used something wider or longer, then that's what you may miss with your new

kit).

2) Do a "test trip", how about spending an afternoon photographing your kind of subjects in your own town to find out if you

need a wider or a longer lens?

Finally, don't forget to find out if your batteries will last a whole day in the field, if the battery charger will fit the electricity outlets overseas, and if you have enough storage, both in CF cards, and in secondary/backup drives.

What in your Rebel XSi is limiting you to make better photos?

Cameras life is more related to the number of "shutter actuations" than it is to it's age, so, if you don't have a particular

complain, and your camera has a lot less than 100,000 photos, you may continue using your current camera. If, on the

other hand, there is something in particular that you don't like from your camera, then we may help you recommending a

camera that could help you solve that specific characteristic.

Also, as you consider Canon's APS-C cameras "continues to lag behind competition", and you already used Nikon

cameras before, it is worth sharing what you see on other cameras that attracts you, perhaps including what's your

investment in Canon accessories to evaluate if it is cost effective for you to change to another system.

You are right, a simple flash with a sync cable is all you need. Perhaps a cheap "slave" type flash could be a better option

for this kind of photography (as you can set it in a regular lamp socket, and won't need to worry about replacing batteries).

This one has "master" capabilities, meaning you can connect it to your camera with a sync cable, and is quite cheap

(there are cheaper ones, but are battery operated):

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/878203-REG/Impact_sf_ae56_45W_AC_Master_Slave_Flash.html

As a reference, regular slave flashes use a photocell to detect when the master flash goes off, but the pop-up flash

integrated to your Canon camera has a so-called "pre-flash" for metering reasons, which would trigger a slave flash, so a

corded flash (or a manual flash on the hot-shoe) is needed to avoid the pre-flash and have all the flashes in perfect sync. You also need to consider that this kind of flash won't work in any automatic or program mode of your camera, so you will need to set your camera manually (a starting point is something like 1/125s, f/8, ISO 100, and then only change the aperture according to the results).

Dan, Could you post a link to a photo similar to what you are trying to accomplish?

If I understand correctly, you are trying to freeze water drops, either in mid air, or splashing on a liquid surface. If I

understood coreectly, what you need is a lot more than a flash (the kind of photography I'm describing usually requires a

complex setup of flashes and a computerized water dispenser that is synchronized to the flash units and the camera). But

maybe I thinking in something a lot more elaborated than what you are actually looking for.

Besides all the great feedback you got, I guess it's important to note that you need to select RAW in the camera to record

a RAW file in the first place. Perhaps you knew this and set the camera to RAW+JPG before shooting, but if this is your

first DSLR, you could need to do this setting to have RAW files.

I don't remember needing a external card reader to see the RAW files out of a 20D (it's just faster and more convinient to

use the reader), but I hadn't connect a camera via a USB cable in years, so I may be wrong.

Michael, regarding stacking two filters, I would suggest you to avoid this practice because:

1- You are augmenting the reflecting surfaces, increasing the chances of internal reflections (an dust visibility),

2- You are prone to get the filters stuck one into another, leaving you with no lens protection if the only way to remove the

polarizer (polariser) is removing the clear filter (can't imagine a situation where you actually need a UV filter together with

a polarizer).

While I don't have any of those, and these reviews were done using an APS-C format camera, you may be interested in reading what

photozone says about these lenses:

Sigma AF 150mm f/2.8 http://www.photozone.de/canon-eos/303-sigma-af-150mm-f28-apo-ex-dg-hsm-macro-test-report--review

Sigma AF 180mm f/3.5 http://www.photozone.de/canon-eos/305-sigma-af-180mm-f35-ex-hsm-apo-macro-test-report--review

Hi Ross,

On the first question, you may have selected just one image before clicking on the Edit Image Window button. DPP

allows you to select which photos to process in the edit window, so you can click on the edit image window button before

selecting any photo to see all the images within the edit window, or you may select the specific files you want to edit

(there's a "Select All" option in case you already selected one file and want to edit all your photos).

I don't use ImageBrowser, and can't comment on it's behavior, but the usual suspects in a file browsing system are three:

you may need to refresh your folder to see the new file, or you may also be saving the new file in a different folder than

the one you opened. The third option, which I don't think could be the case, is that your software is filtering the type of

files it displays, hiding other files (like showing only .CR2 and/or .JPG files, and not showing .TIF files).

One piece of advice: if it blocks the viewfinder, it may block the light meter, so try to check the exposure for a known

reference, like the sunny 16 rule.

This is a post from less than a year ago, so if they had it then, maybe they still have it:

http://www.photo.net/canon-eos-digital-camera-forum/00az7I

I would even buy the software and cable, and then take the time to find a 1v in good shape.

Hi Mauro, I don't know the answer, as I disabled the assist beam as I consider it too annoying, but I read somewhere that

the AF assist beam only works when the flash is closed, and that the camera uses a series of flashes for focusing when

the pop-up flash is popped up, which I also find quite annoying.

In any case I would recommend the use of a external flash or near-ir focusing aid, like the ST-E2, as these devices

project a grid that actually improves focusing even in low contrast targets, where the assist beam wouldn't help because

the lack of features in the subject. I sometimes use one of my EX series flashes just to help with the auto focusing,

disabling the flash via a custom function.

Mouser Electronics (mouser.com) has some 25 thousand push buttons in their online catalog. Worth checking if they

have what you are looking for. Maybe a phone call is even easier than the filters in their website.