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dave_trayers

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Posts posted by dave_trayers

    Canon EOS 6D and WiFi

    in Canon EOS Mount

    Posted

    <p>A few years ago I would shoot portraits on location with a 1DmkIII and WFT and had it configured to send a low res JPG to the computer for my preview and to show the parents and send the RAW file to the memory card for later processing. It was a little tricky to setup, but once up and running worked brilliantly.</p>

    White Balance -- Ballet Photos

    in Canon EOS Mount

    Posted

    <p>@Mark:<br /> You are correct... there is a real chance that the flash will distract or even momentarily blind a performer (if they happen to be looking right at it) and this can be very dangerous for a dancer. Most dance performances prohibit flash at all times. I've witnessed parents and even a pro photographer from the newspaper being asked to leave for taking a flash photo. High ISO and fast lenses are required.</p>

    <p>It also screws up your WB as the flash color temperature is around 6500°K and the incandescent lights are around 2500°K. Not to mention that it overpowers the colored gels.</p>

    <p>Lastly it can create harsh shadows that look weird on the dancers. And unless you have a powerful strobe like the 580EXII you have to be pretty close to the dancers. Then you'll lose the background and it will look like they are dancing in front of a black cave. To really do it right you need to balance the strobe with some ambient lighting for the background. Then the strobe really becomes a fill light. I did do this a few times when we were making promotional photos and needed more fill light to lift some shadows. But it was a controlled situation, posed, and the dancers knew the flash was coming.</p>

    White Balance -- Ballet Photos

    in Canon EOS Mount

    Posted

    <p>I shoot ballet all the time. First three rules:<br>

    1. Do not use flash. <br>

    2. Do not use flash. <br>

    3. Do not use flash. <br>

    Ever.<br>

    The rest:<br>

    Shoot RAW. You will want the extra exposure latitude. To make it easier, use Tungsten WB. Do not find something white and balance for that. Under a colored gel, that white thing is *supposed* to be colored. Shooting tungsten compensates for the color temperature of the incandescent source in front of the gel. You can then 'tweak' it in post if you have a RAW file. <br>

    Your 40D should provide good results at ISO1600 and ISO3200 if you don't print too big. LR3 or NoiseNinja do a good job of cleaning up images up to 8x10 size.<br>

    Set the camera in Tv mode and enable 'Safety Shift' in the custom functions. Set the shutter for 1/250 (faster if you can). Safety shift will use that shutter speed as a floor until you run out of aperture, then it will start to slow down as things get dark. When they lighten up again it'll speed up. You also should use a fast lens at least f/2.8. <br>

    Set the exposure mode to Evaluative. I've tried them all on the 10D to the 5DmkII and I've found that the evaluative mode delivers the best results. BUT... you DO need to learn to use exposure compensation and recognize when to use it. I usually keep it at around a -1/3... but many times I'll go as low as -2 and if I could go further I would. Just like any digital exposure, you try not to blow out the highlights. Given the time of year, I suspect you're shooting a Nutcracker? The Snow scene will probably be a -1 to -1.5. The scene where Clara is running around in her white nightgown right before the rats appear can be a -2 EC. Use the overexposure alert and histogram as an aid.</p>

    Setting up a 7D with a WFT-E5 Wireless Transmitter.

    in Canon EOS Mount

    Posted

    <p>Couple things to consider....</p>

    <p>Since you're printing, I assume you're sending a full resolution file to the laptop? Probably around 7MB for a high quality JPG? Keep in mind that it can take several seconds to send a file this size wirelessly, even connecting at 54Mbps (802.11g). If you are event shooting, you may find the delay problematic. </p>

    <p>You will need an FTP server running on your laptop (Try Filezilla server, if you need one). However, I recommend you skip the FTP and run straight PTP mode. Setup the pairing utility on your laptop. It should find the camera after you enable the WFT and it connects to your router. I recommend you don't use any security or encryption on the network connection. It just adds complexity. Once the pairing utility finds your camera, start the EOS Utility and enable it to control the camera. In the EOS Utility you specify where you want the image files dumped. You can then minimize it to run in the background and then use the printing application of your choice to print. I recommend you stay in the Canon world and use DPP to print the images. It integrates with EOS Utility ("Sync folder with EOS Utility" option).</p>

    5D Mark ii - Beyond Economical Repair

    in Canon EOS Mount

    Posted

    <p>Seems to me that if *Canon* won't fix it you are out of options. You may be able to ebay it for parts. I think there was someone on this board recently looking for the specs on the lens mount for some project he's working on. Maybe you can contact him and he'd be interested.</p>

    PocketWizard MiniTT1 and FlexTT5

    in Canon EOS Mount

    Posted

    <p>I use them with both the 580EXII and the 550EX. I did have issues with the MiniTT1 and PW replaced it for me. When the 580II was on the TT1 it wouldn't fire at any shutter speed below the sync speed; in other words it would only fire in HSS mode.</p>

    <p>With the replacement, it works great. I used them to shoot a wedding and didn't have any issues. Most recently I used the TT1 to trigger my PW PlusII's I use with my studio strobes.</p>

    <p>There is also a <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/pocketwizards/">FLICKR</a> group with a pretty good discussion forum. It seems to be hit or miss for some, but as for me, after some initial issues, they work as advertised.</p>

    <p>BTW, PW was excellent in their customer service.</p>

    connecting camera to computer to see preview on computer screen using Lightroom?

    in Canon EOS Mount

    Posted

    <p>If you mean that you take the photo and it appears in lightroom, you still need software to download the image in real time. You can use the Canon software or you can use alternative software like <a href="http://www.breezesys.com/index.htm">Breeze Systems DSLR Remote Pro</a> . You setup the software so it sends the images to a folder on your hard drive and Lightroom will monitor that folder and import any files it finds into LR.</p>

    <p>Be aware there is a slight delay between the files arrival and LR displaying it. It has to import it into the catalog. DSLR Remote will display it for you without needing LR.</p>

    <p>You didn't say whether you have a Windows or Mac computer, but if you have a Windows machine and do a little searching on the internet, you can find the registry settings to allow you to install the softare from Canon. Just download it from their support web page, modify your registry to appear that you have installed a previous version, and install the latest from Canon. DPP and EOS utility work very well.</p>

    <p>One tip... if all you want to do is preview the image but you like to shoot RAW, do this. Setup your camera to send the RAW file to one memory card and a small JPG to the other card. Then configure the software to just get the JPG. You'll get a MUCH faster preview as sending a RAW file to the computer can be slow (10 seconds per image maybe?). A small JPG is almost instantaneous.</p>

    1DSMKIII "Busy" - Slow Write Speed -Normal with RAW?

    in Canon EOS Mount

    Posted

    <p>According to page 199 of the manual the max burst for a RAW+large JPG is 10 at ISO100 and says it varies depending on the image recording quality, subject, ISO, Picture Style, etc. When they say "varies" they mean "less".</p>

    <p>And if you have ISO Safety Shift set or High ISO noise reduction turned on, the manual says the max burst will "greatly decrease". Pages 160 and 163.</p>

     

    How to - Alienbees

    in Lighting Equipment

    Posted

    <p>If you don't want to make the investment in a radio trigger yet, you can use the 430ex to trigger the B800 but not have it contribute to the lighting... just put it in manual mode on the lowest power (1/64, I think) and meter with the B800 so it's at least 1/4 power. The light from the 430 will be enough to trigger the B800 but not so much that it will show up in the photo. Don't use the camera's built in flash... you can't control the power manually and it always emits a pre-flash you can't turn off.<br>

    The B800 also comes with a sync cord that's pretty long, so you can also start with that. For the longest time I used the sync cords until investing in PWs.</p>

    What software to play 5D2 movies?

    in Canon EOS Mount

    Posted

    <p>Bob,</p>

    <p>Thanks so much for the VLC settings! Not that I would use the HD Video mode a lot (I have access to a XH-A1 for HD video), but I've avoided it becuse I couldn't play back the files smoothly. Those settings in your review solved my issues. Now I may play with it some more.</p>

    5D MK II - Auto-Focus Opinion Needed

    in Canon EOS Mount

    Posted

    <p>I shoot almost exclusively in low light conditions of the theater. I've shot just about every Canon DSLR and until recently I used a 1DmkIII. I now shoot with a 5D2 and it autofocuses just as fast and tracks just as well as the 1DmkIII. I use a 70-200 f/2.8 L IS and some primes. I typically use the center AF point and the AF button to start the AF.<br>

    <br />I have absolutely no problems with the 5D2 auto focus in low light.</p>

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