marknagel

<p>Dan, I prefer the lower depth of field. I think it gives a more pleasing look to have a blurred background, or as much as possible. I typically shoot a Canon 24-70L, 70-200L and 85/1.8 in studio. All are extremely sharp at f/4. For groups i will go f/8 to f/11 to get everyone in focus, but even with 3-4 people, I rarely find myself going above f/5.6.</p>

<p>My recent shots with 2 - 3 strobes:</p>

<p>www.nagelhome.com/sidney&ryan/halloween09</p>

<p>www.nagelhome.com/sidney&ryan/ryan 1mo</p>

<p>m</p>

<p>Simon,</p>

<p>I started with the setup you are thinking about. I ended up swapping to interfit stellar strobes then to alien bees. I wish I would have skipped the multiple 580's and st-e2. They ended up cost more than the strobes and weren't even close in power, ease of use, or flexibility. I have 4-alien bees and trigger them off the RF units you can buy on Ebay for around $25. Start one or two and work you way up to more strobes and modifiers.</p>

<p>Depending on the size of your studio, a 150 w/s should be fine. I disagree with "buy as powerful as you can afford". I have a 18x30 home studio. My 160w/s (AB400) is rarely turned above 1/2 power and my 320w/s (AB800s) are rarely above 1/4 power and my 640 w/s (AB1600) is too powerful for MOST of my work. I typically shoot f/4 @ ISO100, adjusting the ISO to 50 or 200 to get f/2.8 or 5.6. Shutter doesn't matter, just keep it below your strobe sync (1/120 is canon's pro strobe recommendation)</p>

<p>If you plan to do studio work, you can't beat the strobes. Avoid the cheap Ebay crap. You'll end up buying them twice (a good set after you throw away the junk).</p>

<p>m</p>

<p>I was going to get into photography, but I'm waiting for the last upgrades to come out first ;)</p>

<p>M</p>

<p>You should read up on the differnt metering settings and how they work. I'll bet the camera this saolves your problem.</p>

<p>m</p>

<p>http://www.nagelhome.com/phototest/psslr/</p>

<p>My comparison of the G10 vs. XSi</p>

<p>M</p>

<p>I did this a while ago:</p>

<p>http://www.nagelhome.com/phototest/Teletest.jpg</p>

<p>Mark</p>

<p>This might help:</p>

<p>DOF<br /> http://www.nagelhome.com/phototest/DOFb.jpg<br /> http://www.nagelhome.com/phototest/DOFa.jpg</p>

<p>Sharpness<br /> http://www.nagelhome.com/phototest/35mm%20test.jpg</p>

<p>BTW, love both lenses. If you have the money, you won't regret it. If you are choosing between both or eating...well I might think about it.</p>

<p>Mark</p>

<p>You need to install the updated ACR file. I don't think it was out when the trial came out.</p>

<p>m</p>

<p>Darius,<br>

I've had three 17-85IS lenses over the past three years and liked them all. One was amazingly sharp, the others pretty good as well. BUT, I'd recommend the 18-200mm IS over the 17-85mm IS. Its faster up to 85mm (f/3.5 vs. f/4 wide and f/5 vs. f/5.6 at 85mm), a little sharper and has a longer range. It does not have USM, but it is still a very good AF, much better than the Tamron's I've owned. Something to consider.</p>

<p>Mark</p>

<p>Use only the center AF point, not all 9. this way you can lock the AF on the eyes.</p>

<p>m</p>

<p>Yep, f/2.8 or 71mm-105mm and IS. Quality is about the same.</p>

<p>m</p>

<p>Don't take this wrong, but it seems like you may need to learn how to use your camera better. P&S typically have faster lenses (with many many draw backs, including terribly noisy shots), but you can compensate with a higher ISO on your rebel and/or buy a faster lens. I've compared many P&S including the Casio, Canons, Samsungs and the Canon G10 to DSLRs and there is no comparison.</p>

<p>Apples to apples, P&S cameras typically fire a flash at night unless you turn it off and you may be trying not to on your DSLR. Then 23 out of 25 are worthless. If you don't want to use a tripod, open your apreture all the way, set your max ISO and see how it works, or buy a flash.</p>

<p>Is there a lens? Yes, a fast lens will help f/1.8 or faster. For $80 try the Canon 50mm f/1.8. Set it to f/1.8 and you ISO to max, then drop your ISO as needed to clean up your shots.</p>

<p>Mark</p>

<p>That was my reaction when I recieved mine.</p>

<p>m</p>

<p>Isn't this the same question you asked a few days ago (17-40L)? You had some good responses there.</p>

<p>m</p>

<p>Bill,</p>

<p>Its a Canon 18-200mm, so not a great lens by any means, but very good for convenience. All shots were default jpg settings. The G10 does a LOT of in camera sharpening! Where the XSI (450D) does very little. If you knocked the sharpening all the way up and it looks sharper than the g10, but I personally don't like the over sharp look. The 18-20 super zoom is a little soft wide open too.</p>

<p>Its by no means a scientific test, but looks like they both shoot slightly different then then my Sekonic meter reads, so that might be some. Overall, even at ISO 100 I find the XSI pictures more pleasing to look at. I think its the saturation, softer look and most importantly to me, the shallower depth of field. By all means the G10 is the best P&S I've used, I just like the results from the DSLRs better. When I put my 24-70L on the XSI, there is no doubt. Then again, the point of that review was to get the point out, that the G10 will always beat the DSLR when I need a quick lightweight pocket cam that does excellent pictures. When Circuit City went under I bought a few for $350. I have no complaints.</p>

<p>m</p>

<p>I bought the Canon 18-200IS. I went to the local shop and tested it and the Tamron, and to no surprise, the Tamron was less consistent on the AF. Been happy with the Canon. I think they are close to the same price.</p>

<p>m</p>

<p>Bill,</p>

<p>I'd have to respectfully disagree with the G10 vs. 450D. I have both and did a comparison myself. While the G10 beats other p&s I have, it doesn't compare to the 450D even with a 18-200 superzoom for quality (noise, color, dynamic range, DoF).</p>

<p>http://www.nagelhome.com/phototest/psslr/</p>

<p>m</p>

<p>I have both. At 35mm I'd take the 35/1.4 and 16-34mm well you can guess. If you are into wide angle the 16-35 is awsome. But the 35/1.4 is great for that perfect backgound blur.</p>

<p>I have several test shots of both here:</p>

<p>http://www.nagelhome.com/phototest/</p>

<p>m</p>

<p>Thomas,<br>

<em>"BTW, cusious to see if anyone ordered the LP-E6 at Adorama at the price of $99.95 and received the battery?"</em></p>

<p>I ordered mine from Adorama, it was $79 and I received it in December (ordered it November). I think the demand is just very high. Can't fault the store for the manufactures shortage.</p>

<p>m<br>

<em><br /> </em></p>

<p>Hydra,<br>

Since the 5DmkII and XSI's noise is virtually the same up to ISO 1600, I thought people could figure it out from the XSI vs. G10 shots. I guess I shouldn't have assumed so much. Next time I'll post 800% pixel peeping crops to show the differences.</p>

<p>m</p>

<p>I did this comparison with a G10, XSI and 5D mkII. The G10 is great, but the inability to get even close to a shallow DoF is its small sensor downfall IMO.</p>

<p>http://www.nagelhome.com/phototest/psslr/</p>

<p>BTW, I picked the G10 up for $349 at Circuit City during their liquidation.<br /> Mark</p>

<p>In search of the perfect vacation setup (light weight vs. quality) I ended up buying an XSI and G10 for an alteranative to hauling my 5d and lenses when I want to go light. I've used all three quit a bit and here are my findings if anyone is interested.</p>

<p>http://www.nagelhome.com/phototest/psslr/</p>

<p>Mark</p>

<p>This is the biggest advantage of a faster lens (DoF)</p>

<p>http://www.nagelhome.com/phototest/DOFa.jpg</p>

<p>M</p>

<p>I waited 8 weeks after I got the camera, (12 weeks total) for the battery. Hard to find.</p>

<p>m</p>