jean_marc_liotier

<p>The EF 80-200/2.8L is compatible with the Kenko extenders. The AF is a bit slow compared to the EF 70-200/2.8L, but apart from that it is a wonderful lens. The only reason that I don't still use it is that I mistreated it and then found that there are no more spare parts for it on the market. I had to buy the EF 70-200/2.8L to replace it. I still have the EF 80-200/2.8L on a shelf - the zoom mecanism is broken, but the optics are in perfect condition. Contact me if you need it for spare parts !</p>

<p>That is why you want to use "M" mode for flash photography when you want to control ambient and flash lighting separately.</p>

<p>A battery pack not only gives you a longer lasting source of power, it shortens recycle times too. Shorter recycle times are my main reason for using the Canon CP-E2 with my 580EX.</p>

<p>I'm just coming back from a two weeks bicycle tour in Ghana. I have used an <a href="http://www.ortlieb.com/_pdf_en/u5plus.pdf">Ortlieb Ultimate 5 Plus Large</a> handlebar bag, and I have been very happy with it. Contrary to all other handlebar bags, I have used before, this one does not sag under a couple of kilograms, thanks to its extremely strong tensioned cable attachment to the handlebar. I always had my 50D with vertical grip and 24-70/2.8 at hand in this bag - minus the lens shade that is too long for the bag. And this bag is removable and features a shoulder lanyard so that you can walk around with it. And being Ortlieb, it is waterproof - tested in tropical rain storms !<br>

Having the camera shouldered while riding is not practical in any way. Having the camera in the rear panniers works somewhat (I have done it for a couple of weeks last year) but it means that you'll have to dismount and mess with the read panniers every time you need to use the camera. The handlebar option is preferable.<br>

<a href="http://www.ortlieb.com/_pdf_en/u5plus.pdf">http://www.ortlieb.com/_pdf_en/u5plus.pdf</a></p>

 

<p>I went on a two weeks bicycle tour with a DSLR and a Samsung NC10 netbook, and I'm very happy with this setup. Reviewing and selecting the pictures works well on the netbook, and the netbook has many other uses. Not shooting and keeping too many pictures, I have used a 32 GB USB key for backup on the way. I'll use the same setup next time !</p>

<p>Paul G : which profiles do you use ? <a href="http://www.neatimage.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2000">I published some on the Neatimage forum</a> , but I have not had much feedback so far.</p>

<p>Any way you set the noise reduction in-camera, make sure that the noise reduction profile you use in post-production is based on that one. Neatimage profiles for example are good for a specific set of camera parameters.</p>

If you must take just one, take the 24-105/4. When I take a single lens and need versatility I am generally very

happy with the 24-70/2.8 - I don't have the 24-105/4. You are going to be outdoors and in a tropical environment

- so light will not be a problem and you don't need to obsess about aperture. You are constrained by weight, so

you want maximum flexibility from what you carry - so zooms will probably be a better idea and you can leave the

85/1.8 at home. Since the 50/1.4 is so small and light, you might want to carry it anyway just in case. I usually

take the 70-200/2.8 to complement the 24-70/2.8, with a 2x converter for emergencies and if I expect to have

animal photography opportunities. But if you eschew animals, maybe you'll be better off without that.

 

I don't know South America - my experience is from Europe and more than twenty countries in Africa, but it

probably applies. In rural areas, I feel safe with the expensive stuff around my neck - on the countryside a

thieve is never anonymous and that is quite a deterrent for any violent ideas - except in war zones which are an

entirely different subject. But in cities I am much more careful - when I walk around for sightseeing I have my

camera in a nondescript small bag and I only take it out for the pictures. In really dense places I don't even

bother and rather carry a compact. Be especially wary in tourist areas as the local thieves will know what to

look for.

 

Don't get a camera bag, it is too obvious a target and for many reasons you really want a single bag with your

hands free. Just carry the camera on the top end of your main backpack - the pouch on top is not named "camera

pouch" for no reason. A peli case is way too heavy and bulky for backpacking. If you are worried about shocks,

use the clothes in your backpack to cushion the gear. But resistance to abuse is also what L glass is good for -

they can really take much more than you think.

 

Hostel lockers should be fine. Leaving gear in a room may not be - although it often is - that depends on many

variables. Sometimes I do it, sometimes I carry my camera in a small backpack at all times even just to go for

dinner. It takes lots of experience to learn to assess security - and even then mistakes are easy. So definitely

use hostel lockers if they are available. And if you have the slightest doubt take it in your light backpack. I

always pack a light backpack specifically for walking around and keeping the obviously expensive stuff with me. I

found a frameless model that collapses onto itself as a very small bag. Your papers and main money stash should

be hidden - I keep the papers in a holster against my skin and the money half in the holster and half in a belt

with an emergency reserve under my shoe soles.

 

There is a fine balance between being naive and being paranoid. Novice travelers easily fall on one extreme.

Maintaining good security while remaining open toward people and experiences takes some experience to achieve.

Don't feel too confident, don't get drunk, be aware of your surroundings and you'll be fine while enjoying what

there is to enjoy.

I automatically create a daily directory, a batch name directory and then automatically rename all the pictures dumped there. A single shell script does among other things all the mounting, directory creation, dumping and renaming for me.

 

The naming scheme is /Shooting_Date/BatchName/20081029_112307_2255_BatchName.jpg where the file name is YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS_SERIAL_BatchName.jpg - the in-camera four numbers serial is used to differentiate pictures taken in the same second. I designed this naming scheme so that the file name alone is sufficient to contain the critical data necessary to find the picture.

Actually the charts come from the Canon product sheet posted on their site...

<a href="http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1029&message=29364318">Someone on the DPreview forum posted an overlay of the MTF chart of the new lens and its elder sibling</a>. No idea where he got it from...

I wonder how it compares to the EF 24mm f/1.4L USM - I'm curious about how much it flares...

<p>The <a href="http://super.nova.org/DPR/DIY01/">Chuck Gardner diffuser</a> looks like a Lumiquest Big Bounce - I tried it and did not like it very much. I much prefer the control offered by the swivel on Demb Flip-it type devices.</p>

<p>Flash as low shutter speeds does freeze the subject - if the ambient light is negligible. With enough ambient light, an unsteady hand adds some perceptible fuzziness.</p>

<p>Since no one mentioned them, take a look at this <a href="http://www.juergenspecht.com/truestories/1/2/">helmet mounted flash and reflector</a>. I once saw one with two flashes mounted on the helmet with arms to set them as far appart as practically possible, and a ST-E2 to trigger them... At least with that sort of contraption you don't need much effort to make the subject take an amused expression...</p>

Tom's styrene sheet supersized Demb Flip-it looks sweet... I just happen to have the Demb Flip-it in my bag and looking at it with a piece of paper, A4 size looks perfectly reasonable and A3 size might even be workable. It has to be very light though because the swivel of the Flip-it won't hold much weight. Styrene sheets are definitely on my shopping list for the next run to the hardware store. And with a piece a velcro, some epoxy glue and some stronger swivel you could build your own giant flipping reflector from scratch, for even less money - but then be even more careful with how much weight you load that poor Canon hot-shoe with.

 

Tom's one handed camera operation with flash in the other hand looks nice in theory, but whenever direct flash light is a problem I am most probably dragging the shutter to soak up whatever ambient lighting there is - so a steady hand is required and I don't know how to achieve that one handed. I could do that when using fill flash in daylight at higher speeds, but then direct flash light is not really a problem and flash on the hot-shoe works fine enough although it might be even better with a bracket.

Thank you for the answer. So if I understand well, the choice of flash positioning on the bracket boils down to were you want the shadows to be. I guess that this calls for some experimenting on my own. So some pivoting bracket is on my shopping list, with an arm long enough that allows various positions on or off axis...

I'm addicted to flash bounce, but sometimes there is no ceiling... So I have to improve my direct flash

technique. My experience shows that bounce cards and diffusers only have a limited effect - and it seems that a

bracket might be what I need. But which bracket ? Obviously the rotating ones are better, and of course build

quality is an issue - but those questions are well debated everywhere. The more interesting question is : where

should I put the flash ?

 

Some people seem to believe that unless you can achieve an almost equilateral separation there is no significant

modeling effect obtained by having the flash off-center. They argue that having the flash centered reduces

unwanted shadows. Others seem to like the results brought by an off-center flash. I am a bit confused. I guess

I'll have to experiment, but considering the price of a bracket, I would welcome your advice...

 

And then, how far is optimal. I guess it depends on distance to the subject. But some brackets put the flash

close to the camera (I don't quite understand what the point is - unless you want flat lighting and probably lens

shadow...), others put at the end of an unpractically long arm, and the there is anything in between. I was

spontaneously looking for the long arms, but maybe there is something I missed...

 

So - where on a bracket do you like to put your flash and how does it influence your lighting ?

If your camera supports it, you can also use an infrared remote - they are pretty cheap, and also useful for self portraits.

The artifact appears on a smoke plume. The smoke plume is a moving element. Moving elements that differ across the LDR images stack will confuse the HDR image creation routine. It could very well be the cause of your problem.

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krita">Krita</a>

has <a

href="http://www.valdyas.org/fading/index.cgi/hacking/krita/adjustment.comments">adjustment</a>

<a

href="http://docs.kde.org/development/en/koffice/krita/layers-adjustment.html">layers</a>

and 16 bit editing <a href="http://www.koffice.org/krita/">among

other things</a>. <br />

<br />

16 bit editing with <a

href="http://www.imagemagick.org/script/index.php">Imagemagick</a>

is also available in the Q16 if you want scripted automation.<br />

<br />

And if you like a modern photography editing workflow, <a

href="http://www.digikam.org/?q=about/overview">Digikam</a>

also <a href="http://www.digikam.org/?q=node/115">supports

16 bit and so do all its plugins</a>, and <a

href="http://docs.kde.org/development/en/extragear-graphics/digikam/using-iccprofile.html">ICC

profiles are there also</a>.<br />

<br />

There is more to Linux free image editing than just Gimp.<br />

<p>Try <a href="http://www.scribus.net/">Scribus</a>. I used it and I find it very nice.</p>

<p>From <a href="http://www.scribus.net/">Scribus home page</a> :</p>

<p><i>"Scribus is an open-source program that brings award-winning professional page layout to Linux/Unix, MacOS X, OS/2 and Windows desktops with a combination of "press-ready" output and new approaches to page layout.</p>

<p>Underneath the modern and user friendly interface, Scribus supports professional publishing features, such as CMYK color, separations, ICC color management and versatile PDF creation.</i>"

</p>

Don't react so negatively to William's advice : the more competition there is on your market, the more important it is to get yourself known and establish the network that will provide you with leads. Spending half a day to shoot the biggest local school's baseball team is a pretty cheap way to obtain privileged access to your target population.

 

Nowadays there are no technical differences between amateurs and professionals. The only difference is that the professional have marketing know-how and have invested in developing business relationships. Consider the time spent with your target population as an investment - and who knows, maybe you will even be able to command higher prices for your senior portraits because you'll be the only local photographer with access to the addresses file...

I'm only here for the unified forum view and I love it ! Simple, fast, works well and there are even interesting people - what more can one ask for ?

 

It looks like most of the negative opinions are aimed at the photo critique system that has turned into a glamour ego contest. I don't mind - I'm not using it anyway...

If you need it now, buy it now. If you don't need it, don't buy it. There is always something better on the horizon.

Whatever you buy, make sure it can display your images. Some may think that image display is optional, but I believe that it is the only way to be sure that the images have actually been transfered. Last year I lost a card's worth of images because a failed transfer to an older model with no display to verify anything.

There are neoprene camo socks to make the large white lenses less visible. They are of course removable and as a bonus they provide some extra protection which makes sense for outdoor use. The downside is that they are quite expensive.