ted_sorensen1

I think the 24-105 f/4 L IS is a great choice. As a single lens setup I would choose it. Optionally, I would supplement it with a prime or two, but the 24-105 would still do 80% of the work.

For comparison, I was unlucky with my 550EX not working right. After two return trips to Canon, they sent a new one as a replacement. THe new one works perfectly. I'm not sure if it happens more often with Sigmas however.

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00BM6F&unified_p=1

wow, you got 5 responses in 5 minutes...

In my opinion, the truth is somewhere in between the two extremes.

 

In general, primes will outperform zooms for critical applications. There are some exceptions, some top-of-the-line type zooms may do better than some not-so-great primes for some applications. On the other hand large increments of lens quality in zooms can mean large increments of cost as well. What primes are sometimes especially good at is producing high quality without a high price.

 

Many zooms (except for the some of the really crappy cheap ones) are capable of producing fine photographs. Even if primes (or more expensive zooms) may be capable of slightly better results when carefully compared, it shouldn't stop you from using what you have and enjoying it. Give your lens a try and see for yourself if you are satisfied.

 

Often careful work makes more difference than minor increments of lens quality. I mean, for example, using a tripod (when convenient) rather than handholding. Stopping down a stop or two from your widest aperture whenever the light / shutter speed allow for it, and so on.

 

I have no comment on the Canon 75-300, as I have not used that particular lens.

I can't answer all of your questions. I can't answer "which is better" in terms of sharpness, for example, but I do have a couple of comments:

 

To the second set option, I would add a 50/1.8 (even a used one) because it is cheap and would give you a good portrait angle of view in 1.6x crop. I have a 100 macro and it can be nice for head shots but is too long to be an all-around versatile portrait lens. The 60 macro, however, may be more suitable in that regard. I have not used it.

 

I would consider you shooting style and preferred subject matter in choosing between the 28-135 and the 17-85 ranges. I think that with either set of lenses you are sufficiently covered for range. Personally I like to have a mid-range zoom that minimizes my need to change lenses in a hurry in my typical shooting situations (which would tend to happen more with mid-range focal lengths ? photographing people at events or weddings for example). That could lead you to either lens depending on your style or preferred subject matter.

 

Personally I am more attracted to buying EF-S lenses in wide angles than in longer focal lengths. The full-frame alternatives are less attractive in wide angle so the risk-reward ratio is better. I can't predict the future regarding 1.6x but I doubt it will go away anytime soon based on recent product releases.

 

I would personally doubt that things like "... newer generation IS, circular aperture and that fancy digi coating... " are things to get overly hung up on when choosing among the choices you presented.

I'm not sure if any were made that fit your Mamiyaflex C lenses, but there were a few (relatively rare) double geared polarizers for TLRs. I have one for my Minolta Autocord (Minolta Autopole) which Dante Stella has picture of his site:

http://www.dantestella.com/technical/autocord.html

Those are very convenient.

 

I don't have a good solution for my Rolleiflex 3.5E or Mamiya C33 (the Autopole does not fit, it is "Bay I" size. With those cameras, I just use a regular polarizer adapter with a step-up ring (C33, or + Bay II / 49mm adapter for the 3.5E). I don't have a one with markings like the previous posters, but I don't use polarizers with those cameras very often anyway. I just look through it with my eye before attaching and make note of the orientation I want. I have a polarizer with enough nicks and scrapes so I can judge it's orientation, however I'm sure there would be ways to mark it if you had a clean one.

strange... I have a hotshoe adapter like that - it requires male to male PC sync, but I never saw a Vivitar 285 flash like that. Must be an early model or something? Not the 285HV I take it.

 

Anyway, again you can find them on ebay...

For example, there is currently one listing:

"1 ft Short Straight Flash Sync Cord Male-Male"

Your Vivitar flash should have come with a special PC Sync cord that is regular pc sync male on one end and the Vivitar-specific male on the other end.

 

search on eBay for keywords: "Vivitar Sync" and you will find more than one vendor selling them. Most are knock offs made in India. I bought a couple and they work fine.

 

Most of those cords are short so you would buy the "one male and one female" pc sync cords that you already saw as an extension if you need a longer cord.

OK... if nobody else is going to say, then I will...

 

Thanks for sharing that.

I think the previous poster is on the right track... there is usually at least one other mounting position available (for the Nikon F4 actually). <br> <br>

 

I posted this recently... it's not about the Elan 7 but maybe you should see if it helps:

<A href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00CAlV">Rebel XT (350D) + BG-E3 Grip Stroboframe Anti-Twist Solved</A>

some excerpts copied from the manual:

 

"With slave unit A being the main flash and slave unit B being the fill flash, the flash ratio (A:B) between these two slave units can be set from 8:1 to 1:1 or from 1:1 to 1:8. (Thirteen 1/2-stop increments.)

 

On the master unit, press the < SEL/SET > button and select Ratio

Pressing the < SEL/SET> button changes the selection in the following loop:

Press the < - > button to select Ratio ON A:B. Ratio ON A:B will blink. Press the < SEL/SET > button again.....

Yes you just need to set a ratio.

 

see you 550EX user manual and/or go to this site:

http://photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/

RE: previous poster "... EOS or Nikon. As far as I understand neither of those brands will meter with a lens that does not have appropriate electrical lens coupling..."

 

This is NOT correct regarding the Canon EOS model.

 

I think it probably IS correct with at lease some Nikon models like D50/D70/D100 ... I think you can meter on the D2X/D2H... but I don't know the Nikon models very well.

 

With a Canon EOS DSLR, you have the same restrictions as with the Pentax when using mechanical manual lenses: you must stop the lens down manually to meter correctly (and of course focus manually). On a Canon EOS you can use aperture priority as well as manual mode with adapted lenses. The camera will still automate the shutter according to the meter in aperture priority mode.

 

I use several m42 Pentax Super Takumars as well as a couple of Nikon manual focus lenses with my Canon Rebel XT DSLR (and with my Canon EOS A2 and EOS 620 film bodies as well).

 

Of course, as far as I know the Pentax is able to use K-mount lenses whereas Canon EOS models can only use m42 screw mounts (and Nikon, Cantax, Leica, Olympus). I thought I also heard that the focus screen may be bigger on the Pentax and thus easier to use for manual focus.

In case you didn't know... you can also adapt your Super Takumar lenses to Canon DSLRs in a similar way.

Congrats... the Retina IIa is good. I've had 3 (and still have 2), and all 3 of them were similarly slightly cloudy on the rear element (inner surface). After a owning them for a while I got more brave/ambitious and removed the rear elements and cleaned them. They actually cleaned up fairly well.

... and there are few bargains in used Canon EF-mount autofocus pimes on eBay. Is that what you were referring to? It stands to reason as they are in now way obsolete... but of course some (and especially the wide angle ones - and the 85/1.8 as well) go for very very near the new price, which is of course too high.

Re: "...NOTE: has anyone else noticed that primes are zooming in price on eBay? ..."

 

I noticed that wide angle prime prices have increased. Did you notice an increase in other focal lengths also? I didn't really notice that.

 

On the other hand, I also noticed that the types that can be adapted to DSLRs (the ones I'm interested in) like m42 screw mount and Nikon mount have held prices a little better than the ones that can't (at least without optical adapters) like Canon or Minolta manual focus for example.

I use zooms AND primes. I basically have a double lens set... one for fast operation and one for when I don't need to work quickly.

The "work quickly set" consists of a three autofocus zooms (one of them with IS).

 

The other set is a full range of primes... but only two of them are Canon EF mount autofocus. The others are Pentax Super Takumars, Nikkors and Vivitar Series 1 lenses pretty much covering all of the focal lengths. With those of course I am using adapters of course - and they must me stop-down metered as well as manual focused so I find they are not practical for some applications where conditions (or my subject) are moving/changing quickly.

 

Because all of the the manual focus primes were bought very cheaply, my total investment for the double set of lenses is not very high. Of course I paid much more per lens for the zooms because that is where cheap lenses won't provide adequate performance (in fact I am looing to upgrade one of mine right now). But you don't need many zooms to cover all of your needs anyway.

I had a look at my Contessa... on mine it looks to me like a faintly green viewfinder with a golden-yellow patch...

OK, then I see why you are considering the 28-75 f2.8 Tamron or 18-50 f2.8 Sigma. I don't have either so I can't give a lot of advice... other than I have been looking at those two models myself. I have also been considering the new Sigma 24-60 F/2.8 EX DG as well and I suggest you also seek opinions on that model. It is about the same size as the Tamron 28-75 F/2.8 and only slightly more expensive.

Is this a one-wedding shoot or do you expect to shoot wedding regularly?

 

If it is a one-time thing, then can you easily rent in your area? Personally, I would rent a Canon 24-70 f/2.8L for the wedding and then after buy a more affordable lens that suits my needs (including for things other than weddings).

Retinas are good ... I think you should add these to you list: Voigtlander Vitessa, AGFA Karat IV / ANSCO Karomat. The Vitessa is slightly larger (wider) but is very good.

I don't know if it's too simple but... maybe the "Classic Cameras (pre-1970)" can be relabelled something like

"Classic Cameras (pre-1975)" or even "Classic Cameras (pre-1980)" if you want to be bold about it. Like in other areas, the "Classic" label is a moving target and with the growth of digital, it is easier to conceive of 1970's gear as "classic". Just a thought.

OK, thanks BOB, for the quick answer.

 

So it sounds like it would probably be more similar to a 15mm full-frame design (or at least somewhere in between). In other words I suppose it would require quite a number of lens elements (or more aspheric elements) to achieve good correction much as full frame ultra wide angle lenses require.

 

Therefore I suppose we also can't imagine that this hypothetical 15mm prime (for APS-C) can be very fast, small and inexpensive all at the same time, even as a prime. Oh well...