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salil_s

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Posts posted by salil_s

    New EOS 10D 28-105 f/3.5 II USM Better than 50 prime?

    in Canon EOS Mount

    Posted

    I have had the 28-105mm for about 1 year now and just got the 50mm f/1.8 about a month ago. Now, I have the 50mm mounted on my camera by default, it is that good! Believe me, except for candid street photography and "fast" moving action shots you dont require a zoom lens. The tack sharp 50mm will not only give more "pop" and contrast to your images, it will allow you to capture images which you cant even think of capturing with a slow zoom. Take a look at the one and only image that I have uploaded on photo.net to see for yourself why this lens is called "fast". The image might not be one of the best night shots one can take, but it serves the purpose of illustrating how the 50mm enables you to take pictures without flash in extreme low-light situations. (And not many can afford f/2.8 L-series zooms.)

    Sample pics taken with 28-105mm USM?

    in Canon EOS Mount

    Posted

    Well I guess I have to carry out a some more tests with my lens before reaching a definite conclusion...although I can definitely vouch for the fact that at f/8-11 it is very sharp...

     

    I think that this lens is a bit soft when wide open (at 3.5-4.5 the eyes of the subject never look sharp.) On the other hand, could the softness be a result of my lab giving me digital prints? An ISO 400 Kodak neg film looked extremely grainy on my pc moniter when I scanned the negatives. But the grains magically disappeared when I took out prints from the lab.

     

    Can the photoshop post processing done by labs (despeckle etc) to smooth out grainy images make the images a bit soft?

    Sample pics taken with 28-105mm USM?

    in Canon EOS Mount

    Posted

    Askin Taner...

     

    "Do not bother using this lens at large apertures (as in wide open...), especially at the wide end"

     

    Dont you mean the Tele end? Coz at 28mm the DOF is really wide...i am currently testing this lens and after 35mm the lens does seem to be quite soft at wide apertures...havent arrived at a definite conclusion though...coz it could be hand-shake or a bad focus & recompose technique...

    Third party flashes for Canon EOS 50e

    in Canon EOS Mount

    Posted

    Thank you all for the helpful replies!

     

    I have borrowed a "Nissin 32AF" TTL Auto Flash for testing from a friend. It says "for Canon" on the back of the flash unit and also has an AF Assist Spotbeam(red--infrared?). No LCD screen but it has a manual zoom from 28-85 and a tilt head (no swivel). Construction is very cheap (the battery compartment slide-on latch leaves a 2mm gap through which the batteries can be seen!) but overall it does seem to work. I did check the trigger voltage (thanks Yakim for the link, very helpful) for compatibility and it is 5.5V, so I should be safe for now. Meanwhile I have started saving up for the Sigma 500 super. And theres alwayz the 10$ option when I cant borrow the Nissin :)

     

    Thanks again...

    Third party flashes for Canon EOS 50e

    in Canon EOS Mount

    Posted

    I dont like flash photography (becoz I don�t know too much about

    it :) but unfortunately the time has come to buy an external flash

    for my EOS 50e. Sometimes the built in-flash just isnt enough and

    the most limiting factor is that I cannot bounce the flash light off

    the ceiling or use a real diffuser on it. However, I rarely do flash

    photography and would just like a basic flash to cover events like

    birthday parties and other functions. I was thinking of some cheap

    Vivitar unit or something in that range - one that is more powerful

    than the built-in flash but nowhere in the range (or price) of a

    dedicated EOS speedlite. How do I know if these cheap flashes are

    compatible with my camera and wont fry the camera electronics? Any

    suggestions about the flash unit are of course welcome.

    Thanks in advance...

    Have 28-200mm lenses improved significantly?

    in Accessories

    Posted

    Thanks to all for your replies. Pro zooms have more or less caught up with prime lenses in a manufacturers line-up so I see no reason why these super zooms cant catch up with the good midrange zooms soon. I am not planning on buying one, yet. I asked the question as I have seen the Tamron 28-200XR recommended quite often. So I thought that maybe these 28-200s have finally caught up with the better midrange zooms. And as for the passionate response of Al Kaplan, well, point taken. But I bet you own a Leica.

    Have 28-200mm lenses improved significantly?

    in Accessories

    Posted

    No I dont own one and have heard this statement more times than I

    care to count--- "You are much better off with a point-and-shoot

    rather than using a 28-200mm lens on an SLR." Anyways, while reading

    an issue of practical photography I came across this: "Something like

    the tiny and light Tamron 28-200mm superzoom is a great option for

    landscape shooting if you want to travel light and have lots of

    pictorial flexibility."

     

    Kind of makes you wonder--- do the newer 28-200's offer you image

    quality that is significantly better than point-and-shoots or is it

    totally worthless using one of these superzooms on an SLR? Are we

    carrying over our prejudice regarding the early 28-200mm lenses to

    their newer siblings without actually using them?

    Remote switch RS-60E3 or Remote control RC-1?

    in Canon EOS Mount

    Posted

    Sorry for that. My mistake, I didnt check the archives. But thanks to all of you. From what I gather, the RC-1 is a bit erratic and also battery dependant. One can always use the self timer instead of the RC-1 to be in the picture. Ultimately, I would love the convenience of the RC-1 but the RS-60E3 just looks like the more reliable option.

    UV filter for EF 50mm f/1.8 II?

    in Canon EOS Mount

    Posted

    I know that many users here at photo.net consider the 50mm f/1.8 to

    be an almost disposable lens because of its low price, about 65$ at

    bhphotovideo if I'm correct. However I live in India and here it

    retails for about 100$, which is not exactly bargain price for me. So

    I need a UV filter for the lens. Since I'm a beginner to SLRs I dont

    know much about filters and how much they affect the sharpness/image

    quality of a lens. Any good UV filter recommendations for this 50mm?

    Any other advice will also be appreciated. Thank you in advance for

    your help.

    Nikon N65 versus Minolta Maxxum 5

    in Nikon

    Posted

    This question is virtually impossible to answer.

    But heres my 2 cents...

     

    "Which is a better camera?"

    Ans--- Minolta Maxxum 5. No doubt about that.

     

    "Which is the better system?"

    Ans--- Nikon OR Canon. NOT because the optical quality of lenses is any better but because the range of "pro" lenses and accessories is better. At the consumer end all three are the same, unless you want the IS (Image Stabilisation) feature of some Canon consumer zooms. You can also rent Nikon & Canon gear. You cant yet rent Minolta gear, but this position might change in the future.

     

    "Should I consider Canon?"

    Ans--- Why not? Maybe you will find that the new Rebel Ti or a used/new Elan II offers the best compromise.

     

    I recently faced the same dillemma. Ultimately I got a great deal on a new Elan IIe and it meets my needs perfectly. Thats why I went Canon. If not for this deal I could have gone for any of the 3 makes. Actually I was quite keen on the Maxxum 5, the Rebel Ti was a distant second. But in the end the Elan IIe just offered the best bang for the buck.

     

    I would say dont rush into buying your first SLR camera. First do some more research on all 3 systems before you put down your money. Cause from what I have learnt, no one system will satisfy all your needs but ANY one will come close to satisfying almost all of your needs. You are not just buying a camera, you are investing into an entire system so spending some time researching the pros & cons of each system as per YOUR requirements will only help in the long haul.

     

    Have fun hunting down the best system for "you".

    How do I inspect an Elan IIe before buying?

    in Canon EOS Mount

    Posted

    Ben, Yakim, Ilia, Sanath, Rich, thanks to all of you for answering my questions so quickly. Thanks to you I got my doubts cleared in real time and now I have my very own EOS 50e! Yes, the pics turned out just fine and I bought the body today. Will get the 50mm f/1.8 within the next couple of days. I am grateful to you all for helping me with my decision.

     

    Photo.net rocks!

    How do I inspect an Elan IIe before buying?

    in Accessories

    Posted

    Note: The Elan IIe I am talking about is actually an EOS 50e. Same thing, but the Elan IIe is called EOS 50e in India and some countries outside USA.

     

    Jim, Peter, thanks to both of you for your feedback.

     

    Well I took a friend who owns an SLR & a roll of slide film with me to the shop. But since the dealer insists that the camera is new, I had to pay a small advance to run the roll through. Played with the exposure bracketing, compared the metering with another camera etc. If the pics look OK on development I pay the balance, if not, I get my advance back. The dealer is ready to give me a replacement guarantee so I dont think I have too much to worry about.

     

    Still, I have two doubts:

     

    1) Everything about the electronics seemed OK (the eye focus worked quite well!) and the autofocusing was inaudible, but the shutter CAN be heard, its not very obtrusive but the Elan series is supposed to be very silent. Is the shutter noise more audible in the ELAN IIe than the other cameras in the Elan series?

     

    2) In the Elan 7 when a new film is inserted, the camera completely winds the film to the end, and then as you click photos it counts down to the first frame i.e. 36,35,34...1. The Elan IIe didnt do that. Film drive was normal--- 1,2,3...36. Is there some custom function responsible for this? This one has me totally confused. Any clues?

     

    Once again thanks for your help.

    How do I inspect an Elan IIe before buying?

    in Canon EOS Mount

    Posted

    Note: The Elan IIe I am talking about is actually an EOS 50e. Same thing, but the Elan IIe is called EOS 50e in India and some countries outside USA.

     

    Well as per your advice I took a friend who owns an SLR & a roll of slide film with me to the shop. But since the dealer insists that the camera is new, I had to pay a small advance to run the roll through. Played with the exposure bracketing, compared the metering with another camera etc. If the pics look OK on development I pay the balance, if not, I get my advance back. Fair deal and the dealer is ready to give me a replacement guarantee so I dont think I have too much to worry about.

     

    Still, I have two doubts:

     

    1) Everything about the electronics seemed OK (the eye focus worked quite well!) and the autofocusing was inaudible, but the shutter CAN be heard, its not very obtrusive but the Elan series is supposed to be very silent. Is the shutter noise more audible in the ELAN IIe than the other cameras in the Elan series?

     

    2) In the Elan 7 when a new film is inserted, the camera completely winds the film to the end, and then as you click photos it counts down to the first frame i.e. 36,35,34...1. The Elan IIe didnt do that. Film drive was normal--- 1,2,3...36. Is there some custom function responsible for this? This one has me totally confused. Any clues?

     

    Once again thanks for your help.

     

    PS: Yakim, the Elan II/EOS 50 has indeed been discontinued. But a few dealers still have some left over inventory which is going at a cheaper rate since the introduction of the Elan 7.

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