frank_dzambic

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<p>I'd title Jeff's photo "Just Right". Or "Am I Blue?"</p>

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<p>How about "Peek-a-bloo"?</p>

<p>The good news is that you don't need an external meter.</p>

<p>The shutter should always release when you're in "M" mode. Hard to say why it won't, but it's not because of poor light. It could be a malfunction, or you might have some sort of a setting or custom function set that would prevent it, you might have mirror lockup enabled which could require two presses of the shutter, etc. Is either the aperture ("f number") or the shutter speed blinking in the viewfinder when this happens? Or is anything else blinking anywhere else when this happens? Either way it should still fire every time in Manual mode. Unfortunately it's late and that's all I can come up with.</p>

<p>Actually there is one more thing. Are you sure the shutter speed is reading 1/20 and not 20" ? If it's 20" it could be that the shutter is releasing and staying open for 20 seconds so you don't hear it open and close instantly. That one's a long shot but since it's the beginners forum I figure I'd mention it.</p>

<p>You should probably mention what brand and model camera you're using.</p>

<p>I notice you said the pictures were "dull" rather than dark so I'll base my answer on that. </p>

<p>Looking at where the shadow of the car falls, you were in the right position (in relation to the sun) to get the maximum polarization effect. What may have happened while you were concentrating on trying to remove the reflections from the windshield is that you didn't pay enough attention to the reflections and specular highlights on the paint of the car and inadvertently removed them along with the windshield reflections. That could certainly cause the car to appear "dull" (in addition to the picture being underexposed). Cars can be a tricky subject when you're using a polarizer because they can have such a dramatic effect. For example you might polarize out a reflection of a tree from the hood of the car, giving the paint a rich look, but at the expense of not removing any glare at all from the window. Or you might get the tree reflection out of the hood but end up increasing the reflection of the grass towards the bottom. Or you might remove all the reflections from the paint, but none from the window, or vice versa. Often it ends up being a compromise. </p>

<p>If you have the time, frame your shot and then spin the polarizer around slowly a few times and watch various areas of the car as you do. You should then be able to notice not only where the reflections are, but also how they get removed/accentuated as you rotate the polarizer. After a couple of turns you should also be able to decide which reflections are the most objectionable and remove them and take your shot. Once you've taken your shot check the histogram and adjust your exposure as needed based on that.</p>

<p>My personal opinion is that the number one factor in disc longevity is the burn speed used to record them. I can count on one hand the number of discs I've had fail on me and I know I burned them at the highest speed possible at the time. All the rest were burned at a maximum of 4X, dvd and cd, and I've yet to have one of those fail years later. It takes a bit longer to burn them, but not nearly as long as trying to recover the data on a failed disc. They're Verbatim Data Life Plus discs if anyone's interested, but I still think the recording speed is a bigger factor than the brand name though I do trust the brand name as well. Why should burn speed matter? I don't know. I wonder if differences in discs burned at various speeds could be seen under a microscope?</p>

<p>Another thought too, if you've enabled mirror lockup, simply turning the power off on the camera (after you've fully depressed the shutter button and forced the mirror to lock up without a 2 second timer) will cause the mirror to go back into its regular position without activating the shutter if you want to save your shutter actuations. Then turn the power back on and repeat. If the mirror ever doesn't lock up when you press the shutter button fully then it's the shutter button. That way you'll avoid the "save your actuations campaign", but I don't know how much wear and tear the power button is designed to take. Probably less than the shutter.</p>

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<p>First, I did this 20 times and the mirror locked up every single time but (because it doesn't help in identifying the problem) the shutter also fired two seconds later every time.</p>

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<p>Actually it does help somewhat because the mirror won't lock up if the shutter button isn't pressed down all the way, just like the shutter won't release if the button isn't pressed down all the way. It would help even more if the problem would present itself while you're testing it though.</p>

<p>Intermittent problems are frustrating to say the least. Maybe you could try the tests again next time the problem arises when you're out doing your regular shooting? You may even get lucky and the problem will go away for a while. </p>

<p>I know when I first bought my 40D the shutter button was acting up sporadically and I even posted a question here asking if others were having similiar problems. Unfortunately it was still too new of a model and nobody really knew yet that there was a known problem with the shutter button. Anyway, after a couple of days the problem pretty much went away so I chalked it up to the button needing to be "broken in", or seated properly or something. Once in a blue moon after that it would act up for a couple of frames, just enough to annoy me but not enough to cause much concern. It wasn't until a couple of months ago that it finally started acting up regularly, and by then the problem was well known. Once I tried the "rotate the shutter button while pressing down on it fix", that pretty much killed it and it had to go in for service to replace the button. Not to say necessarily that rotating the button while pressing down on it was what finally killed it as it could have just been a coincidence, but that is the history of mine.</p>

<p>I'm not sure what the point of that long winded reply was, except maybe to give you some hope that your problem will go away for a while as well until you have the opportunity to have it fixed.</p>

<p>One last thing, if you paid for the camera with a credit card, you may have the original manufacturers warranty doubled by the credit card company (depending on your card) which means they'll pay for the repair if Canon won't.</p>

<p>Honestly in my opinion the problem with the 2nd pic isn't even that there's too much flash (which as you can see from the comments already given is a matter of personal taste) so much as that the flash is incredibly harsh. You can see that in the long dark shadows cast by the couple on the grass. I played around with the image a bit in Photoshop to balance out the brightness of the couple with the background but it still didn't look right because of the harsh shadows being cast. So the photo would actually take a fair amount of work to fix AND look natural as it's not simply a problem of the couple appearing too bright. Those shadows have to be fixed which means a lot of clone stamping or other techniques in addition to evening out the brightness and fixing the blown out whites of the guys shirt. Or another way to put it is that it will take a lot of work to make the picture look natural, where you don't have soft even light with harsh shadows and blown out highlights. To even out the brightness is relatively simple, to make the final product appear natural to your subconscious eye isn't.</p>

<p>To keep things simple, if you're using Photoshop and want to try fixing either image, Shadow/Highlight would probably take you a long way without resorting to masks and layers and cloning.</p>

<p>The way you'd fix the shadows is by shooting the flash through an umbrella, or by using an off camera flash and bouncing it off of something large and white (like foamcore) to soften up the light and therefore the shadows as well. Seeing as you've posted in the beginner forum you probably don't have umbrellas and off camera flashes, but it's an fyi anyway.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>I'm not a repair tech so can't really give a qualified answer, but, I don't understand how magnets can go bad, especially intermittently. Are they losing their magnetism? If so I don't think a magnet would lose it's magnetism intermittently even if they were some sort of electro-magnet powered by the camera's battery. Though I suppose it's possible that the magnets have just gradually gotten weaker over time. </p>

<p>I guess the one thing you could do to narrow it down to the magnets vs the shutter release button is to shoot exclusively with a cable release (if you have one) for a couple of days. If the shutter fires every single time using a remote cable release then you can probably say the culprit is the shutter release button. If the camera still won't fire reliably even with the remote release then I guess you have to look at something other than the shutter release button, like the magnets? Come to think of it, you can probably do the same check shooting exclusively with the mirror lockup function. If the mirror locks up every single time you hit the shutter button, then the button is working. Maybe even better you can also do the same test with mirror lockup and a 2 second timer which will only require one press of the button rather than two. If the mirror locks up every single time you press the shutter button but the shutter doesn't fire every time a couple of seconds later then it's not your shutter button.</p>

<p>If I were you though I'd find a way to borrow the money to get your camera repaired before your important shoot next month. Cameras always fail at the worst, most inconvenient time possible which can be loosely defined as any time you want to take a picture. The more important the picture the more likely the camera will fail.</p>

<p>It's not your shutter, it's your shutter release button. The 40D has a known issue with a defective shutter release button, and the only true fix is to send it in and have it replaced. If done by Canon U.S. the cost will be $180 plus tax and shipping. I tried the "rotating the button fix" when mine started frequently behaving erratically and for some reason it pretty much became useless afterward. I never knew if the shutter was going to fire or not after that. You may have better luck with it but eventually the shutter button will become completely unpredictable and at a most inopportune time will more or less completely fail. My suggestion would be to send it in and have it repaired properly when you have a lull in your shooting schedule.</p>

<p>I just wish Canon would pull their heads out of their asses with regards to quality control. I skipped the 1D3 in favour of the 40D because of all the focusing problems being reported with the former and instead got a camera with a known faulty shutter release button. They're great cameras when they work, but every Canon body I've ever owned has had to go in for service at least once, and some multiple times.</p>

<p>I agree with everything that's already been said above about the nice layout, quality of the work, good selection of neutral background colours, and the lack of gimmicky transitional fades/effects and music. It's simple, elegant and tastefully done.</p>

<p>But your Slate Quarry Study 45 is crying out to be rotated 90' clockwise!</p>

<p>John they are fully aware of how we find them most appealing, even if it's just out of the shower. That kind of information is stored in their brains in a safe place and never forgotten because it's "useful information".</p>

<p>When we're waiting for an hour for them to get ready, they're not getting ready for us, they're making sure they look good for or better than any other women who will be in the same room at whatever event they're getting ready for.</p>

<p>On arrival they'll look, compare, rank and judge the other women with a critical eye while we'll do much the same, but with a roving eye, and both will file away the results as "useful information".</p>

<p>The people in the image appearance business get this.</p>

 

<p>Photo.net is a place where you can <em>share </em> information as well as asking others for it.</p>

<p>I wouldn't recommend shooting RAW only as having jpg's makes it so much faster and easier once you're home again to scan through all your shots and find the "keepers". What I would recommend is shooting RAW + small jpg rather than full size jpg.</p>

<p>I just quickly looked at a 40D directory on my hard drive containing 167 images. The small jpg's average about 800KB, and the RAW's average around 12MB. All total, the jpg directory takes up 105MB. That means that if I hadn't shot those jpg's along with the RAW files I would have been able to shoot another 9 or 10 RAW files. Big deal. 10 more shots is nothing, but the convenience factor and time saved in having those small jpg's is huge.</p>

<p>Other than that, do like everyone is suggesting and buy more CF cards. This question is only slightly different than the one being asked 10 years ago "How much film should I bring on my distant once-in-a-lifetime trip?" The answer was the same then as it is now. Film (or a CF card) is much cheaper than the cost of your big trip so bring more than you think you'll need. Of course CF cards are also not only cheap nowadays, but much cheaper and more portable than film ever was.</p>

<p>If you really can't afford to buy another CF card or two, then at least try to find a place that will allow you to download your CF cards and burn them to a DVD. Make two copies maybe, one to keep with you, and another to mail home to cover any mishaps. Then format your CF card in camera and re-use it.</p>

<p>I really wouldn't mess around with downloading your CF card, selectively editing and then re-uploading the remainder to your CF card via the card reader. You're just playing with fire there as far as I'm concerned with possibilities including corrupted directories, corrupted files, unexpected camera writing/formatting behaviour once you re-insert the card, etc.</p>

<p>See for yourself. Actually its a comparison between the 24-105 and the 28-135 since they don't have a test for the 28-105, but I imagine the results are probably similar.</p>

<p>http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx?Lens=355&Camera=453&Sample=0&FLI=2&API=0&LensComp=116&CameraComp=9&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=1&APIComp=1</p>

 

<p>Select the Text tool from the toolbar, and if you're using Windows, hold down the ALT key and type 0169 on the keypad, not the number keys along the top of the keyboard.</p>

<p>The Canon repair center in Mississauga is staffed by clowns who don't really care what you want or need. If you send in your equipment for repairs and include a letter explaining what needs to be repaired they seem to treat it as mere extra packing material. They'll fix what they want to, and if you're lucky won't mess up your address when they ship it back to you. Then you can ship it back again with another letter that they'll ignore, and hopefully this time when they fix what they feel like it'll be what you wanted fixed. If you're lucky it doesn't have to go back a third time.</p>

<p>From personal experience, asking them for a shutter count on a failed shutter that you're having replaced is asking for the impossible. It won't happen. You'll get a runaround, you'll get told that it's "proprietary information that they don't release", and ultimately you'll get told that it's too late to find out because they've already replaced the shutter. But you'll never get a shutter count from them.</p>

<p>Really, save yourself the trouble and frustration of dealing with them if you can at all help it. If you can't help it, the U.S. has some wonderful repair centers.</p>

<p>Thankfully Canon Canada has a competent parts department if you ever need to order replacement parts.</p>

<p>If you're shooting RAW, and using adobe ACR to convert your files, try downloading some updated profiles. I switched to the Beta 1 profiles a long time ago, and the difference they can make in images containing deep saturated reds is remarkable. Your reds will actually turn out red, not orange.</p>

<p>You can download them here.....(no need to download the DNG profile editor)<br /> http://labs.adobe.com/wiki/index.php/DNG_Profiles</p>

<p>For some specific info, go here....<br /> http://labs.adobe.com/wiki/index.php/DNG_Profiles_FAQ#WhatIsNewAS</p>

<p>It's a jewelers screwdriver set, and you can pick up a set at the nearest Dollar Store. You know, the stores where everything sells for a buck. Probably any number of places carries them. Or search online for a jewelers screwdriver set.</p>

<p>Ok, I did. I found this:<br /> http://photos.bahneman.com/tricks/article.php/canon_shutter_failure</p>

<p>So, maybe it is shutter failure, but it's unlike any I've ever experienced. Mine have always resulted in photos with a bright horizontal band somewhere in the frame, along with constant ERR 99's. Guess you learn something every day though technically (semantically?) it's more of a damaged shutter curtain than a shutter failure.</p>

<p>Ziggy, I just posted a correction to a response I made to you in an older thread about Eizo's and Spyder 2's where I described how I calibrate my monitor. The light just went on when I saw this thread. In the other thread I had confused the Spyder2 with the Eye One Display 2, the latter being the one I have. Hope I didn't lead you on a wild goose chase with my responses from that other thread.</p>

<p>I just realized after reading another thread that I've confused the Spyder2Pro with the Eye One Display 2. I have and use the Eye One Display 2, as I described above. Hopefully I haven't sent you guys in circles trying to duplicate my success with a different product.</p>

<p>What arcing white line? I've looked and looked at the picture you posted and the only thing I see is a brighter area in the sky near the middle of the picture. If that's what you're referring to it's not shutter failure. Shutter failure would show a horizontal band, not a vertical one. The shutter curtains move up and down, not left to right.</p>

<p>Isn't there a proposed bill that will require every camera equipped cell-phone to make a "shutter sound" when it takes a picture? That sound will alert the terrorists or criminals that their activities are being recorded and they will either kick the activity recorders ass on the spot, or stop what they're doing until the activity recorder leaves and/or has to answer his phone. That might make people hesitant to try and record crimes in progress with their cellphones meaning the bill that requires cellphones to make a "shutter sound" when they take a picture could actually result in an increase in crime and international terrorism. Hmm....talk about a law of unintended consequences!</p>

<p>In direct response to the scenario in the OP's question, I agree with him that the practice is outrageous, and would also add unethical. I would hope the law would also agree, but as I'm not a lawyer I don't know. I don't think I could go to the Louvre and whip out my black magic marker and draw a mustache and goatee on the Mona Lisa and then claim it as my own, even if it was technically a "derivative work". And the Mona Lisa isn't even signed by the original artist!</p>

<p>If there are any CF's that aren't at their default value, then the display will show CF so that you know you have a CF set. Scroll back through all the CF's, set them all back to zero and the "CF" should go away.</p>

<p>As far as high-speed sync and 2nd curtain sync, it's one or the other, not both at the same time.</p>