howard b. schwartz

<p>i wish to purchase a mirrorless digital system. i am an experienced film and slr user. this would be a camera to supplement my dslr. looking for sharp stills. do not particularly care about video. <br>

should have system lens. thanks.</p>

<p>i have purchased a fujifilm x-pro1 camera. how do i convert fuji raf files to dng with ps5 for windows 7? i tried the adobe converter, but that doesn't work.</p>

<p>i would like to take a color image and make a sepia colored image. how can i do this in photoshop cs5? thanks.</p>

<p>in general, the nodal point of a zoom lens is different at every setting. that is, the nodal point at 14 mm will be different then 42 mm. i assume you want to do panoramic photos with stitching (why else to determine the nodal point to eliminate parallax?), so i would recommend a fixed focal length lens. also, if you are far from the intended subject, the effect of parallax is minimal. the only time that parallax is a problem is up close. the effects of parallax are decreasing as the distance to the subject increases.</p>

<p>i loaned my camera to a friend and the lens had a polarizing filter on it. the friend sent me an email stating "i believe the polarizing filter is changing the focal length of the lens, and i am removing it." i responded to my friend that the polarizing filter, or any filter, will not change the focal length of the lens, but only affects the amount of light entering the camera, and therefore, you need to make adjustments in the exposure settings. does my friend know something i don't?</p>

<p>sorry, cs5, on pc, with windows 5, 64 bit.</p>

<p>when i use the horizontal typing tool, i draw the box where i want the type, however, when i try and put characters in the box, nothing shows up. can you help? thanks.</p>

<p>while it is not absolutely necessary, a dedicated pano setup makes taking images a very easy work flow. the best way to make panos is to find the entrance pupil of your lens, so that you can eliminate vertical and horizontal parallax. a tripod is a must have. here is some advice.<br>

1. use a tripod<br>

2 use a cable release<br>

3. set your white balance to anything but "auto". this does not apply if you are shooting raw.<br>

4. do not use any filters on your lens<br>

5. use manual exposure<br>

6. use the hyperfocal distance for manual focusing<br>

7. use a low iso<br>

8. overlap your images by about 20-25 percent.<br>

9. use either photoshop or a good stitching program, such as ptgui or autopano<br>

10. be sure to have your camera/lens combination setup for the correct entrance pupil distance<br>

11. if possible, use mirror lock up<br>

obviously, many of the above thoughts are for any image, not just panoramas.<br>

if you use a dedicated pano setup, you can take vertical and horizontal images together for stitching. a good rule of thumb for vertical images is 15 degrees up, 0 degrees neutral, and 15 degrees down.<br>

hope this helps.</p>

 

<p>any suggestions for a ring flash for a canon 5d mark ii. this is not for macro work, but rather for portraits. i have a 85 mm and 50 mm canon lens that i use for this purpose. thanks.</p>

<p>i forgot in giving my suggestions above for panos. do not use any filters on the camera when shooting panos.</p>

<p>there are several easy elements to get good panos. 1. use a tripod 2. use low iso 3. cable release or remote firing of shutter 4. manual exposure 5. hyperfocal distance focusing 6. use raw if available 7. often overlooked, but important, set the white balance to anything but auto (not necessary if you shoot raw) 8. not necessary, but very helpful, use dedicated pano head on tripod 9. use good stitching program, such as photoshop, ptgui, autopano, etc. 10. shoot in portrait mode 11. overlap photos about 25% 12. as always, a high quality lens<br>

also, you should find, if you are close to your subject, the entrance pupil measurement of your lens. the farther your subject is from the camera and lens combination, the less likely you are to get parallax stitching problems. taking a custom white balance will also be very helpful. you should process these images in photoshop bridge as a group before using your stitching program.<br>

most of these elements are what you should be doing if you have the time to get good photos.</p>

 

<p>where are they available?</p>

<p>on some nikon and sigma lens, a red ring on the lens signifies the location of the entrance pupil. does canon have any similar markings?</p>

<p>i only use this paper to print. therefore, i spent the time and the money to get a custom profile. i think if you only use one or two papers, a custom profile is worth it. just my opinion.</p>

<p>oh, i forgot. overlap your frames by about 25%.</p>

<p>i have used both, and happen to prefer, as i posted above, autopano. having said that, if you absolutely level your camera, use a pano head, and correctly determine the entrance pupil for your camera/lens combination, both programs will give excellent results.</p>

Autopano is the best.

Can anyone recommend a split image focusing screen for the 5d mark II to be used for general manual focusing? Thanks.

<p>also, i should note, that the file with the group and layers is 12.5 mb, and when i save it in autopano without the embedded images, the size is about 6 mb, so i know the layers are present, i just can't view them in the group.</p>

<p>there is no small triangle on the left side of the group folder icon.</p>

<p>thanks for the responses. first, under the window drop down menu, "layer" is checked. also, in autopano i have told it to output to background and layers. the file opens in photoshop as a group if that helps any. again, under the layers pallette i have the option to flatten, so i know the layers are there, but i can't see them. perhaps the fact that it opens as a group means something. thanks. i can really use the help.</p>

<p>i forgot to add that in the layers pallette, view layers is turned on.</p>

<p>i have made a panorama in autopano that has embedded in it five layers, representing the five panoramic photos that i have stitched to one panorama. when i open the image in cs5 (windows), however, i can't seem to open the layers. the image has the layers because the image can be flattened in the layers pallette. how do i get the layers to be visible? thanks.</p>

<p>thanks for all the responses. i was going to try the sigma 50 mm, but there seems to be a lot of discussion about inconsistency in the quality from lens to lens. many of the reviews i have read relate sending the lens back for poor focusing and quality. any comments?</p>

<p>i am looking for a 50mm prime lens for my canon 5d mark II. the reviews of the canon lenses are less than stellar. any other brands recommended?</p>