michael_davidowsky

<p>If you still have time, I would suggest picking up both the 70-200mm f4 IS and the 1.4x extender. The lens is excellent and significantly lighter than the 2.8 version. All you lose is one f-stop. Since the 5D2 is low noise even in the higher ISOs, that should not be an issue.<br />Combined with the 24-105, you'll probably have the lenses for all your needs. I second the suggestions that the backup should be the G10, perhaps with a Lensmate-type attachment so you can use a polarizing filter.</p>

Thanks to everyone for your responses - I did not expect the philosophical discussions!

 

Sprite - I do not have Lightroom, but assume that using the same workflow using Adobe Camera Raw will yield the same results. I will give it a try!

 

I've been using Adobe RGB on the assumption that its wider color space was more appropriate for my Epson 2200 printer. If indeed the sRGB space more than covers the gamut that the printer can reproduce, then sRGB from beginning to end may make the most sense since I have no plans to do any high-end lithography printing.

 

I guess the other alternative is to do the soft-proofing that Andrew mentioned, but I would prefer not to have to adjust the colors twice, once for a printing version and the other for the web.

The color in my photoshop (CS3) images does not match the image when viewed in

either the Windows Picture & Fax Viewer (WPFV) or a Web page using Windows

Internet Explorer.

 

My monitor is a 24-inch Dell Ultrasharp that has been profiled with Eye One - the profile

is used as the default profile for my monitor. My working space in Photoshop is Adobe

RGB (1998). After working on an image in CS3, I save it as a 16-bit TIFF with the

embedded Adobre RGB profile.

 

I then resize the image for the web at 72 ppi, convert the image to the sRGB profile,

adjust the image to 8-bit, and save the revised file as a jpg with the embedded sRGB

profile. When viewed within CS3, the colors in the converted image and the original

are identical.

 

When the jpg image is placed in a web page and then viewed with Internet Explorer, or

viewed using the WPFV, the image is more saturated and the blues tend to have much

more of cyan cast. Even the original TIFF image has the same problem when viewed

using the WPFV. The same problem exists when viewing the images on other

computers.

 

Is there something else that I need to do? Is there a workaround?

I also have the same problem with Bibble.

I am using the latest versions of Breeze Browser and Camera Raw (with CS3) to

convert my Canon 20D raw files. My monitor has been calibrated and the

settings in both BB and ACR have been adjusted appropriately for that

calibration.

 

My problem is that the colors in ACR always appear a bit off. The greens are

too bright and saturated and the blues (skies especially) appear unreal. It is

not as if there is an overall color cast to the image, just individual colors

that appear wrong.

 

The colors produced by Breeze Browser, to my eye, always appear to be just

about right. Unfortunately, Breeze Browser lacks the image correction tools

found in ACR (shadow and highlight recovery, for example), so it is not the

ideal tool to use for problem images.

 

Short of doing the calibration thing with a Macbeth color chart, does anyone

have suggestions on how to modify the ACR settings to achieve the Breeze

Browser "look"?

I have to agree with PL and Robert - Dwaynes is not worth the risk. I had a number of Kodak mailers with the old Fairlawn, NJ address - the mailers were forwarded to Dwaynes. The slides of E100 came back dusty and scratched - scratches visible with the naked eye! The slide mounts are cardboard instead of the plastic mounts I used to get from Kodak. Interestingly, Velvia slides came back from Dwaynes (sent in at the same time) in reasonable condition. I will not use Dwaynes again, even if I have to eat the cost of the mailers.

 

A&I, however, although a bit slow, does a great job with C41 processing (I've used Ultra 400). You have an option to go with white borders on the prints, the negatives are returned nicely sleeved, and even the shipping packaging is done with good care. I may try them the next time for slides.

Since you will be in the area for 10 days, I strongly agree with some of the recommendations to rent a car and get out of the city for 2 or 3 days. My suggestion would be to drive up to the Finger Lakes in upstate NY.

 

I would get a room in Ithaca (about a 4 to 5 hr drive from NYC). There are wonderful state parks with gorges, waterfalls in the area, as well as the Finger Lakes themselves (Ithaca is at the southern tip of Caygua Lake). There are also a number of wineries - check out the reislings! I do suggest, however, that you avoid the area during Memorial Day weekend (last weeeknd in May). Cornell University normally holds its commencement during that weekend, and you will not be able to find a hotel room.

 

As far as NYC is concerned, I think everyone has indicated the major sights. I also recommend Top of the Rock; walk across the Brooklyn Bridge; take the Staten Island Ferry (free roundtrip, great views of lower Manhattan). Broadway and 21st St offers a great view of the Empire State Building, with Madison Square Park in the foreground. A 7-day subway pass is the cheapest and quickest way to get around.

 

You are picking a great time of the year to be here, before the heat and humidity kicks in. An even better time is late September through October.

 

Have fun!

I've been very happy with the Canon A640 I bought a few months ago. It has a large variable angle lcd (as on the older Canon G-series), 10 megs, and takes great pics (although the noise starts to become noticeable at 400 ISO, but nothing that Neat Image can't fix).

 

My only complaint was that I had to buy a bunch of SD cards instead of being able to use my Canon 20D CF cards. I also had to buy AA rechargeables instead of being able to use the same Canon 20D battery. My now retired Canon G3 was able to use both the CF cards as well as the 20D battery. On the other hand, the 640 can use the same accessory lenses as the G3 (wide angle and telephoto).

Assuming the weather has been cold enough for the waterfalls to begin to freeze, you should be able to take some really neat shots. Some of my favorite places are:

 

1) Ithaca Falls - about a block or so from Ithaca High School

2) Taughanock Falls - about 5 to 7 miles north of town on Route 89 (west side of Cayuga Lake, in Taughanock Falls State Park)

3) Triphammer Falls - Cornell University Campus

4) A hike up Cascadilla Gorge from downtown Ithaca up to Cornell's southern entrance

5) Buttermilk Falls State Park - waterfalls and gorges - just south of Ithaca on Route 13

6) Treman State Park - waterfalls and gorges, just south of Buttermilk, also on Route 13

7) Hike into the gorge below the Suspension Bridge on Cornell's campus

8) Great views of Cayuga lake and West Hill from the top of Libe Slope on Cornell's Campus (also from the top floor of the Johnson Art Museum)

 

Ithaca is a great place - the flora is obviously better in the warmer months (the Fall is spectacular) - but you should still have some good photo opportunities.

 

Have fun!

 

P.S. Check out the Moosewood Cafe for dinner (downtown Ithaca)

I have ordered from www.2filter.com for almost all my filters. The service is very fast and the prices are usually less than B&H. They also have a wide variety of filters from many manufactureres in addition to Hoya. I bet they would Fedex your order if you called and asked.

I agree with Jeff - I find that the 10-22 and the 24-105 take care of about 90% of my needs. You may want to consider the 70-200 f4 with a 1.4x extender for the remaining 10%. That entire combo can fit in a small backback, w/ lens hoods, and is reasonably light - your back won't be complaining after a day of hiking.

Thanks to everyone for your very helpful advice. I'll probably do some standard shots, just to get it out of my system, and then go exploring on my own.

 

Thanks again!

I will be visiting both Arches and Canyonlands in mid to late April,

and plan to stay in Moab.

 

Although many of the threads on this subject have been quite useful

as far as places to go, I would greatly appreciate any suggestions

regarding the best locations for sunrise, sunset, and during the

day. Since I only have about a week, I would prefer not to be

setting up in the dark one morning, only to realize that the location

is better suited for sunset.

 

Also, are there locations the are great for midday photography?

 

Thanks in advance!

I have used Kodak Professional Paper (non-glossy finish) on both my 2200 and a Canon i960 and have been quite pleased with the results. I used the settings suggested on Kodak's web site, and had to make a few addtional tweaks to get the colors to match the monitor.

My 2-year old 24-70L lens will no longer autofocus. I am using the

lens on a 20D. All my other lenses work fine. I also tried using

the lens on an Elan 7 - it did not work on that camera body either.

 

Has anyone encountered this problem? What are the suggested repair

locations - any ideas on the potential cost?

 

Thanks!

I have been using a Canoscan 4000US to scan in E6, old Kodachromes,

and negatives for the past 3 yrs and have been reasonably happy with

the image quality. I'm using a USB connection, so the scans can take

a while, especially when scanning at 4000 ppi and using FARE. Is it

worth upgrading to a Nikon Coolscan 5000 or Minolta 5400? Is there a

big improvement in image quality, or is the advantage primarily in

speed?

I agree - the camera does need a permanent ISO display. I would actually prefer it in the viewfinder.

I took my recently purchased 20D for its first big test run yesterday

in NYC's Central Park to take pictures of the blizzard. It was a

beautiful sunny afternoon with blue skies. Here are a few

observations:

 

1) Battery life is great, even in cold weather (it was probably

around 20 deg F)

 

2) The advice of sights such as Luminous Landscape to expose for the

right of the histogram is on target. The best image exposures were

those that emphasized right side of the histogram but did not blow

out the highlights.

 

3) With the snow and sunny skies, yesterday was about as contrasty as

you could get. The latitude of the camera appeared to be somewhat

between slide and negative film. When in doubt, I usually expose for

the shadows with negatives and for the hightlights with slides. It

appears that one should expose for the shadows (or at least the

midtones)with the 20D, again taking care not to blow out the

highlights. I was shooting RAW.

 

4) Focusing is quick (I used 24-70mm f2.8 and 70-200mm f4 lenses)

 

5) Although not unique to the 20D, the ability to change ISO speeds

in "mid roll" is great!

 

6) Camera "click" noise is noticeable, but not obtrusive.

 

That's about it. I'd be interested to see if others have had similar

observations.

Neat Image (NI) is great, but I also use Grain Surgery (GS). On some pictures, GS just appears to do a better job than NI of reducing grain without blurring the picture details. My first choice is NI - if it's not doing the job, then I use GS. Note that GS is about two to three times the cost of NI.

Does anyone have experience with the Steady Stick? I'm looking at it

as an alternative to lugging around a tripod (I'll be using a Canon

20D and/or an Elan 7). I realize a tripod is superior, but for those

times when you need just an extra stop or two, I thought this device

would be nice to have stuffed in the camera bag. Thanks!

I had not used my Epson 2200 for about 8 months. I did have to go through the "Deep Cleaning" cycle about 4 times, but after that, it worked perfectly.

I have decided to purchase a 20D. Is the accessory battery grip

necessary? The 511 battery appears to hold a charge pretty well, and

carrying an extra battery or two would take up less space in the

camera bag - not to mention saving almost $200. I will be using a

wide range of lenses, from the 10-22mm to a 300mm f4 with extenders.

I also plan to use an L-plate from Really Right Stuff for the tripod.

Thanks!

Qimage is also quite useful for printing different photos on the same page - 2 5x7s on an 8.5x11 sheet, for example. All you need to do is basically drag and drop.

In addition to the earlier responses, here are some suggestions:

(1) Liberty Island, Ellis Island, & Staten Island Ferry (both offer great views of lower Manhattan)

(2) Bryant Park (in back of the main Library, between 42nd and 40th on 6th Avenue)

(3) Empire State Building (of course!)

(4) Rockefeller Center

(5) St. Patrick's Cathedral

(6) The UN tour is interesting, but I'm not sure if they are offered on the weekend

(7) Intrepid Air & Space Museum (they now even have a real Concorde to walk through)

 

Have fun!

My suggestion is the 70-200 f4L. I also have an Elan 7 and really love this lens. I only wish they had an IS version! This lens also works great with the 1.4x Extender, effectively giving you close to a 300m lens.