Ken Katz

The professional photographer at my son's wedding did an excellent job using a Canon 5D mkIV and a bunch of "L" lenses. But that was almost 2 years ago, and if she wanted to get better sensor and AF tracking performance, she would need to move to the RF system. Don't see any reason why a modern crop sensor camera couldn't handle a wedding without any significant compromises

Katonah NY Cow - EM-5 III / Olympus 25mm f1.8

At a wedding I attended this weekend in Manhattan, the wedding photographers used Fuji mirrorless cameras. One photographer used only primes and no flash during the ceremony, while the second shooter used a mid range zoom and a flash. I was close enough to see that the person with the primes used both the viewfinder and the back screen to shoot. Both shooters relied more on flash during the reception, and as the natural light continued to fade. I am sure the photos of the bridal party in Central Park, taken before the wedding, will be lovely. I have been to only a few wedding in recent years, but this was the first one that the professional shooters did not use FF, and the first I have seen to use mirrorless. I am sure their vertebrae appreciated carrying less weight.

In manual mode, the applicable distance would be from the flash to the subject. As described above, the more the main flash is off to the side of the subject, the more of the shadow side of the subject would be visible, and may need fill light from ambient light, another flash, or from a reflector catching some light from the main flash. I have always tried to avoid using direct flash, by using some form of flash diffuser, or bouncing the flash off a ceiling or wall. Without a flash meter (or auto flash / TTL measured flash), exposure becomes more challenging.

Katonah NY - Olympus EM-5iii / 25mm f1.8

Of course some of your questions will be answered when UPS/Fed Ex/ ect drops the new camera at you doorstep. My EM-5 III is substantially similar to the OM-5 in form and function, with a few additional upgrades. Expect better sensor performance, with DR and high ISO improved by about 1 stop. IBIS is significantly better than your EM-10, and the EVF is better. Very good high frame rate, plus E shutter availability. I always use the setting to minimize shutter shock or the E shutter setting. I have found that subject tracking and face recognition to be unreliable. Tracking will sort of track your subject leaving you with in focus bodies and out of focus faces. Face recognition gives up as soon as the subject turns away from the camera. The OM-5 may have slightly better performance than this, but I don't believe it is materially better. The PDAF AF sensors are effective for things that move by using a single AF point, or a small grid of active AF points. I have captured birds in flight (pellagins moving slowly at La Jolla Beach) with a decent hit rate.

Don't have this lens but if it looks like the one on the top of this page: https://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/50mm-f18-ais-pancake.htm#id then the yellow lines on the silver ring refers to f11, and the blue and orange lines refers to f16 and f22 respectively. So if you set the focus ring so that the zone you want to focus at is within one of those colored lines pairs, and you set the aperture accordingly, then that is zone focus. They probably didn't include any indication for wider apertures since the amount of DOF available using a 50mm lens on a FF camera is so limited that it is not very useful for zone focus or hyperfocal distance focus.

Hopefully still among the living for a start. I would like to again approach photography as a activity to produce more images that I really like, instead of primarily for family (grandchildren) and travel.

Apparently, Imaging Resource as gone dark, and is likely closed down: https://www.dpreview.com/news/9097452022/imaging-resource-closed-following-acquisition-by-new-owner Somewhat humorous that I linked to an article on DP Review, which is also in the process of shutting down. Don't have any words of wisdom on this except both Imaging Resource and DP Review were very good sources of reviews and information on the photo world and will be missed. Apparently supporting such sites with only ad revenue may not be a viable business model anymore. It is also unclear is such an operation can be supported by paid subscriptions.

OpticalLimits (formally known as Photozone) just paywalled their new content. It's only $1 per month, and I certainly understand the rational of financial survival if ad revenue does not cover operation costs. Not sure how I feel about this and don't know if I care enough to pay, unless they are reviewing a lens I am truly interested in purchasing. With respect to equipment I have used, I generally have agreed with the accuracy of their technical assessment.

I haven't shot film in almost 20 years, and almost 40 years since I shot real B&W film, but the attached seems to be a good guide to the impact of over and under exposure: http://canadianfilmlab.com/2016/04/03/black-white-film-exposure-test-comparisons-kodak-tri-x-400/ Note that their "box speed" exposure was determined by a spot meter of an 18% gray card, so the bright sky in the background would not have been included in the exposure. IMHO, following a TTL averaging (or center weighted averaging) meter works fine unless you are shooting backlit, sidelight, or any high contrast scene. For that you need to understand the light in front of you, what the meter is telling you, and how the recording medium at your focal plane will react. I'm now a lazy EVF user, which shows highlight and shadow clipping live, and can always see what the image looks like and its applicable histogram before walking on. I can still screw up of course, but the technology makes that harder.

Here it is, at the bargain price of $9,499, including a lens hood, caps and a bunch of good stuff. https://www.usa.canon.com/shop/p/rf100-300mm-f2-8-l-is-usm?color=White&type=New Lens hood is indeed $650, but the lens comes with it (so you better not loose it!) https://www.usa.canon.com/shop/p/et-124-lens-hood?color=White&type=New They say its for professionals who shoot theater, candid's, and indoor sports.

Click on your name icon, top right (the Purple W), the select "Images" (middle of page/right) Site is far from perfect, but not all that unfriendly (most days)

I would assume a $650 lens hood is likely a misunderstanding somewhere in the rumor mill information workflow. $10k for the lens, seems pricey, but the discontinued 300mm EF F2.8L is still selling for $6,100 new, so it would not surprise me to be priced close to $10k. Not sure of the anticipated use of the lens though. It is too short for most wildlife and birds, and too heavy and expensive to be a viable substitution for an 70-200 f2.8 for those wanting a bit more reach. Likely Canon knows best since they are still the world leader in ILC sales.

It is not a lack of courage as to why the big guys (C/N/S) have not yet marketed a monochrome only camera, it is purely a P&L rational. They likely do not see this as a profitable area to engage, and for now, are happy to watch Leica and now Ricoh lead the charge. If those 2 are very successful, or if the folks who convert cameras to monochrome and astrophotography are inundated with work, they may reconsider. The last Canon astrophotography based camera was introduced about 4 years ago, but they seem to continue to make video centric versions of current mirrorless cameras, because they must believe there is a market for them.

New Leica M11 monochrome preview just published in DP Review!!! https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/leica-m11-monochrom-preview Not quite a full review, but perhaps they were reading this thread. I thought DPR was done with new content? If you have a spare $9,195 lying around and a M mount lens or 2, then have at it.

Sounds right to me. I used a 550EX with 2 film bodies and 2 digital bodies. When the flash was the primary source of light (indoors), I would set the camera to M and use the aperture for DOF control and the shutter speed to blend in how much ambient light I wanted in the image. For fill flash, whereby the main source of light was ambient, I would mostly use an AE setting like P, or "S" and set the shutter speed to the maximum sync speed (or higher using FP mode). I never used an EOS camera with auto ISO, so I don't know how that works with the flash.

The "crops are saved!" Apparently, DP Review content will be archived : https://www.dpreview.com/news/0507902613/dpreview-closure-an-update

Glad to hear that BayPhoto (Westcoast Imaging) is still in business and providing quality service. Did you use their standard service or no color corrections service? It is my understanding that these folks only print from files, and don't process film or print directly from film. They do Tango Drum Scans, but the cost, as expected, is quite significant.

I believe that property owned by a government entity would be treated as private property, and subject to their rules and regulations. The fact that it is owned and operated by government entity does not make it public property. Personally don't like any restrictions on photography, but I suppose you can petition the City to change the rules with respect to that location.

I have used these folks when they were called Westcoast Imaging: https://bayphoto.com/ I liked them because they use imbedded icc color space profiles in their workflow. For run of mill prints, I use my local CVS, or for larger orders Printique (Adoramapix). For those, I convert the print files to the sRGB color space when resizing (like 1200 x 1800 pixels for 4" x 6" prints).

It would seem to me that the Seller (B&H) in their sole discretion chooses the Shipper and is the contractual party with the Shipper. They would also be the party to receive any insurance proceeds from the Shipper for loss. B&H and the Shipper also decides at what $ threshold requires the signature of the Buyer (or agent) upon delivery. That said, it is not surprising that the seller of small highly valued items would need to have procedures in place to minimize potential fraud. I do not have an opinion whether or not the OP was fairly treated by B&H, but it seems that their last 2 encounters have been less than satisfactory. I have been purchasing stuff from B&H for over 25 years without any issues. All should note that B&H will close for 9 days beginning on April 5th.

While I am sure there are cameras on your list that deserved to be reviewed, it probably made sense for DP Review to focus on camera systems that are more affordable and also those used by most working professionals. Vast majority of photographers also like cameras that have AF and can use zoom lenses, which doesn't include the M system.

Check the price and condition against what is available used from KEH, Roberts, Adorama, and B&H. For a first real camera, I think buying new, or used from these reputable dealers would make sense. The camera and 2 lenses are fine, but most of the rest of the stuff: cheap tripods, most filters, too big a camera bag, and especially the wide & telephoto adaptors are junk you don't need. CF cards are really cheap, but the big blower in the photo is nice to have. Would not recommend any additional lenses or other stuff until you have used the camera for a while. Note also that a tripod used to hold an Iphone for video may not be sturdy enough to use with a DSLR.

At $30 per 24 exposure roll for film and processing, you hit $1K with about 800 shots. I can do that in week when on vacation shooting my granddaughter and animals at the SD Zoo/Safari Park and La Jolla Cove (more pelicans than sea lions since they wisely precluded visitors from the rocks the sea lions usually habituate). Assuming you are using Canon (based on previous posts), a 5Dii, 5Diii, 6D and 6Dii, are all under $1K used. It was shocking to see the limited availability of film at Freestyle and also Adorama. Each his own, but given the scarcity of film at times, makes sense to store a pile of it in your freezer when it is available. Best of luck.