john20

If your camera is E-TTL or E-TTL2 than it will fire a preflash and get a light reading off the subject you are shooting, regardless of where your flash is pointed, the camera will compensate on it's own.

John

I have a wedding to shoot this weekend, and I need some advice. The bride is

about 5'5" 200lbs, and the groom is 5'10" 125lbs. Any suggestions on poses? I

have looked around for some samples, but no luck.

Thanks,

John

I haven't used the IS lens you are asking about. But, I have owned the 70-200 f4.0L. I sold it to get the 2.8 version for backgroud blur. I can honestly say the f4 is the best lens I have ever used. Image quality was just short of excellent! Even better than my 2.8. So, if you don't really need the IS, definately get the f4L. You won't be sorry.

John

Yes, I only shoot RAW. I shoot a picture of the WhiBal every time the lighting changes and apply it to the pictures taken under the same lighting.

John

Hi Guys:

I use two 20D bodys. I have had an intermittent problem with pink

skin tones(Parameters on both cameras are set to 0). I have even

gotten myself a WhiBal, and use it on a reguler basis. And some

weddings I shoot are perfect, and some are a real pain to color

correct. I have seen some reviews say that Canon tends to lean

toward Magenta in their images. I did a search, but couldn't find

anything here. In theory, shouldn't an image corrected with a WhiBal

contain no color cast? Anyone else with this problem, any advise? I

have attached a sample. BTW, the bride's dress is off-white.

Thanks,

John

I have had both the 20 2.8 and the 28 1.8. I wasn't impressed with the 28 1.8 right from the get-go(very soft). The 20 2.8 did make me happy, until I tried the 17-40L(way sharper). The difference was too much to ignore. I have a friend with the 16-35L, and it is pretty much the same as my 17-40. Which makes me even more happy with my choice to sell the two primes. If you need speed, get the 16-35L. If speed is not a big concern, get the 17-40L, and save some bucks!

John

You need to think "out of the box"! I am not saying what I did is for everyone. But, for the price of an "L" zoom + a few more dollars, you could have a 20D body and a fast prime. That way you can have the bonus of a back-up body, and your lenses stay mounted more of the time(less sensor dust!).

John

Hi Trevor:

So far, I have purchased two 20Ds, three lenses, and three flashes from B&H. Along with a multitude of accessories. I have never had a problem. I always use UPS Express as the shipping method, so you can track it every inch of the way, plus it doesn't stay enroute very long. Hope that helps.

John

P.S. I haven't had to return anything.

Lucas:

I use two 20d's with a combination of lenses. The biggest of which, is a 70-200 2.8L.

John

Thanks for your responses guys. I have chosen the Neotec. Not sure what head yet. To answer your question Jacob, I have been looking at the 322RC2, or perhaps one of the more compact heads. I need one with a quick release plate, as I use a couple of cameras/lenses when shooting weddings. If you guys have any suggestions, I would love to hear them. By the way, budget for the head will be about $100US.

Thanks Again,

John

I have been searching for the perfect tripod. I shoot mainly

weddings, with some personal hiking trips. I have picked out the

Manfrotto Neotec 458B tripod as the one suited to my needs. But I

can't find any reviews on it. Anyone here use it? It is realtively

new, so I don't want to invest in something that won't last.

Thanks in advance!

John

Hi William:

It does depend on how many people there are. Lets just say it is a dozen or so. I would use a tripod and slow down the speed a little, to let in ambient light. Take some test shots in M mode before the group gathers for the portrait. With your flash off, get your camera to expose about half a stop under normal exposure. Then when you turn on your flash, it will light your subjects with the correct amount of flash. You are using one flash, so try to have them as much on the same plane as possible (ie. not four rows deep), that would give you overlit people in front, and under lit people in back. Hope that helps.

John

I have had this lens for about 4 years. First with my film camera, and now it stays mounted on one of my 20Ds all the time. Funny, Ben said he can tell pictures with this lens instantly. Me too. I can be looking down through a wedding folder, and know immediately which ones were taken with this lens. I also have a 17-40 and a 70-200 2.8. Both very fine lenses, but the pictures that I get from my 50 are just a little bit better, all the time. As for the softness? I find mine to be extremely sharp. At 1.4, you find it difficult to judge softness, because of the very shallow DOF. In my opinion, if your shooting at 1.4, sharpness is not to be expacted anyway. In the low lighting of some churches, I find this lens to be a lifesaver. The 17-40 f4 gives me pictures that are flash lit, with black backgrounds. But the 50 1.4, gives good ambient light when shooting at 2.0 to 2.8. The lack of ring focus does limit the focus speed. My other lenses focus much faster. I actually, thought about selling this lens and putting the funds toward a 24-70 2.8. But every time I have to shoot something at 1.8 or 2.0, I think WOW is this thing is great, how could I ever live without it! Hope that helps!

John

I have been using Ridata cards in my D60 and 20D since I purchased

each camera. Recently, I picked up a Lexar 1G card, and have used it

extensively, without a problem. When I purchased my 20D(I shoot

weddings, etc), I needed enough memory to run two cameras. So,

reading about the "trouble" with the Lexar cards and the 20D, I opted

for the current top of the line card, the Sandisk Extreme III. I

formatted it when I got it, tested a few shots, and used it for the

first "paying" time this evening. After shooting most of a family

reunion, the 20D showed a "CF err" message. I powered off, took the

batteries out of the camera, then tried again. Nothing! Tried it in

my laptop, and PC since, and the card does not even show up. I had

to shoot all of my group shots again. Embarrasing, but at least it

wasn't a wedding. The irony is that I didn't trust Lexar enough to

buy any more cards, so I spent extra bucks for the Extreme III. And

that card failed me big time. Thought you guys might be interested.

John

Hi Andy:

Many things to tell you.

-Use a tripod with timed mirror lockup. If you have a remote release, use that with mirror lockup.

-ISO 100 with 4 sec exposure is a good place to start.

-Find a place high enough that people won't be moving in front of your camera.

-Try to get some of the landscape in with your picture, especially if you can get pictures over water.

-Use autofocus to focus on the first burst, then switch your lens to MF. If you don't zoom in or out, and the fireworks are pretty much in the same place, you should get all in focus pictures. (f8-f14)

Hope that helps

John

If you are using a digital body with the 1.6 crop(D60, 10D, 20D), the EW-83D will fit. It is a deeper hood that actually works better than the EW-83E. It just can't be used on full frame cameras because you will get vignetting. It is more expensive, it is around $45-$50US at B&H. They do have it, bye the way.

John

Hi Guys:

I have been using an American Recorder blower to clean my equipment.

It uses CO2 cartridges like a pellet gun. I was wondering if anyone

has used the cartridges ment for pellet guns in this blower. I am

out of my refills, and they are expensive to get shipped to where I

live. The manual says only to use "American Recorder" refills,

because others may have lubricant in them. Personally, I think this

is a means to get you to buy only their refills. If anyone could

respond with their experience, it would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

John

I am contracted for this coming weekend to document celebration

events related to our towns Centennial. On Friday, dignitaries from

England are arriving, and they are having a large dinner for them.

The organizer said to me that one of the photos he wants is everyone

seated at the table. About twenty people. My experience tells me

that this is going to be hard to light evenly. Are there any tricks

you guys use that may help? I will use a 20D, 17-40mm, ST-E2, and

two 550EXs. I am thinking about having one flash on the camera, and

another placed further down the room, bounced off of the ceiling.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

John

I am contracted for this coming weekend to document celebration

events related to our towns Centennial. On Friday, dignitaries from

England are arriving, and they are having a large dinner for them.

The organizer said to me that one of the photos he wants is everyone

seated at the table. About twenty people. My experience tells me

that this is going to be hard to light evenly. Are there any tricks

you guys use that may help? I am using a 20D, ST-E2, and two

550EXs. I am thinking about having one flash on the camera, and

another placed further down the room, bounced off of the ceiling.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

John

I have two 550EXs. I honestly don't know what I would do without my Energizer rechargables. I guess I would have to buy an expensive battery pack for them. I regularly shoot complete weddings(not including reception) without swapping them out. I think Bill has a good point about the charger. I use the desktop model, takes 6-8 hours to charge 4 AAs. Pain in the butt, but they serve me very well!

John

I have owned the f4.0, and now I own the 2.8 non IS. I upgraded for a number of reasons. I won't get into that. I found image quality to be a little better on the f4.0. Very little, mind you. You would never tell in print (I shoot digital). One thing I want to remind you of, the f4.0 doesn't come with a tripod mount. It is a $125.00US accessory. The mount is included with the 2.8. Plus, the case that comes with the 2.8 is much better than the one with the 4.0.

John

Hi Everyone:

I have been using DVD jackets to present my clients with the picture

CDs from their wedding. I design a cover, consisting of images from

their wedding, and insert it in the DVD jacket. Are there more

professional ways of presenting the client with their discs? If so,

what are they, and where do you get them?

John

There are only two in that range, with the qualities that you describe.

EF 16-35mm 2.8L USM for around $1399.00 US

and

EF 17-40mm 4.0L USM for around $679.00 US

Both are exceptional lenses. I own the 17-40, and am very happy with it.

John

I have a D60, 20D, and a G6. I have used this confgiration on all of them. Just set your ST-E2 to "ratio", and put your flashes on A or B, and control the ratio with the buttons on the ST-E2. I don't think it has anything to do with the camera body.

John

Hi Guys:

I have been shooting weddings digitally since I got my D60 a few

years ago. Until now, I have had my prints done at a Kodak print

lab, with good results. Now, clients are requesting more B&Ws. I

find that most of the print labs cannot print good quality B&Ws. I

do upload my files to a print service, and wouldn't mind doing that

for my B&Ws, if I could find one in Canada. Turn around time for US

based print shops is not acceptable for me. Can any of you guys

recommend a print lab in Canada?

Thanks,

John