jp_and_ap_the_glass_eye

Hello I have an Elan 7N and I am very pleased with it. It has the rear control dial for faster, easier exposure compensation adjustment. I do have to say that I really haven't touched it since Oct 2007. I'm pretty much all digital now.

 

Good luck

I have used them multiple times over the last several years, mostly to process negative film and scan to CD. They did all my Italy 2007 trip films. Reasonably clean, reasonably priced, and reasonably convenient. I was satisfied. In fact I have several rolls in a bag on my desk waiting to be sent off.

 

Compared to some of the other suppliers I have tried, their processing and scanning seems much cleaner.

Hello

 

I have a XTi with 18-55 IS kit lens and the 55-250 IS and I am very happy with both. It kind of depends on your

budget and intent. I wanted a light, portable kit what I can take anywhere without too much fear of loss or

damage. The 18-55 IS is a good-walk around lens on the XTi. Not as good as my 24-105 IS on my 5D, but waaaaay

cheaper. The 55-250 IS lens is also well worth the price and a fun walk-around lens. So if you want cheap and

good, go for the 18-55 IS plus 55-250 IS and then throw in the 50mm 1.8 ($80.00?) for indoor portrait shots.

 

There are other more expensive high-quality solutions, but they begin at $900.00.

You might try Pro Photo Connection in Irvine and/or Fullerton Photographics in Fullerton. They are both pro-type labs and charge accordingly, but they have GOT to be cheaper than Cals.

You might try a golf umbrella, they are big, sturdy, fiberglass shaft, and inexpensive. A good golf store may

also sell a clamp for clamping same to a golf pull cart. My wife has a clamp on her pull cart. For example:

http://www.golfsmith.com/products/245132/Bag_Boy/Umbrella_Holder

 

It seems to me the umbrella would act like a sail and shake the tripod (or worse, tip it over). I live in

California and we do see wind, but we don't see much rain, .

 

I do like your portfolio. Great stuff.

I just tried this and it is very cool.

 

My 42inch Panasonic plasma TV has a slot for an SD card. I loaded pictures from Shanghai, Beijing, and Macon, Georgia onto three 1Gig SD cards. When you insert the card, the TV goes into a slide show mode.

 

The photos look GREAT, and everyone can see them. This works great for a crowd of people. And you can sort, select, rotate and edit on your PC before writing to the SD card.

 

I also tried writing jpgs to a CD and putting the CD into the DVD player. It plays, but looks poor, not sharp, and out of proportion.

My pennies worth? IS is worth every cent.

 

It sounds like you are a serious student. The lens in question is a pro quality tool that you will be able to make good use of as a student and (hopefully) as a working pro. Only you can sort out the money priorities.

Hello

 

I just recently bought a 400D with the 18-55 IS and 55-250 IS kit lenses. I am satisfied with both lenses.

 

The results are not as good as the 24-105 IS kit lens on my 5D, but considering the price differential, I am very happy. If you want to cheap out, the kit lens is not a bad way to go. They will not work on your film body, no EF-S lenses will.

 

I would not consider any general purpose lens unless it is image stabilizing. After owning a couple, for me, IS is essential.

Hello . This is not really an answer to your exact question, but - you might consider more memory cards as a cheap and quick solution. 4gig and 8gig cards are fairly inexpensive. Before my China trip I bought 3ea 8gig Lexar cards for about $70 ea after California tax and Lexar rebate. So it kind of comes down to the length of your trip and your daily memory consumption.

Hello

 

From your post is seems you have your priorities right. Number One: the faces of the bride and groom and the family members. Number Two: anyone and anything else.

 

So that mean you will probably crank in some fair amount of exposure compensation (2/3 stop generally works for me. One stop? More?) and lose definition in the dress. If there are great fields of white the meter may be even further off. Burning may be enough for the whiter faces, but probably will not be perfect for the dress.

Hello

 

The idea of talking this over with the bride (and groom) prior is a GREAT idea. It's important that she and the families (weddings are really for the families, aren't they?) understand what they are getting. Ask her for someone to help organize the group photos.

 

Make yourself a shot list so you can be mentally prepared in terms of planning, people, equipment and objectives. Weddings are really for the families, aren't they?

 

A second body and a second shooter for backup would be a great idea. One of the nieces or nephews with a second XTI set on portrait mode and 200 or 400ISO outdoors and 1600ISO indoors and the 50mm lens will take a lot of the pressure off you. Ask them to try to get at least two good shots of each person. And have them shoot from the choir loft during the ceremony.

 

Try to keep the technical side of it simple and bulletproof. Don't be afraid to speak up and try to have fun.

Hello Your educated opinion please? Can I use an 8Gig card in my Canon 5D? I need another couple cards.

I'm in the middle of similar trials with the similar objectives. My observations based on my two months of shooting the 5D and the kit 24-105L IS. 1) Yes, in terms of color, contrast and sharpness, it is a much better lens than my tired old 28-105. Much better. 2) I have not seen any vignetting with a Hoya Moose 77mm filter. 3) I plan to try out my 24 f2.8 in comparison with the 24-105 L IS this month in a Yosemite trip.

 

My experience with the 24 is that it is significantly better than the 28-105 Zoom. Is it better than the 24-105L IS for landscape work? We shall see.

 

Once you see what the 5D+24-105 kit will do, I doubt you be satisfied with any other walking around lens. I don't think keeping you 28-135 will satisfy you.

Hello Back in the old FD days some of my best work was with a 135 f2.8(2.5?) and on camera fill flash. At normal working distances the crop is tight and the portrait jumps off the page at you. Simply stunning.

 

For a more relaxed crop you are going to have to back up and for two heads even a little farther.

 

PRO: Stunning. Tight crop.

CON: Too tight if that's not what you want to achieve.

Those wraps look interesting. I have had bad luck with FD leather cases and the foam in them. They were long-term stored dry in a trunk, and the foam deteriorated. I no longer use FD equipment, but - when I gave that stuff away some lenses had foam crumbs inside them.

 

The writeups on the wraps say that the wraps have internal foam or some such padding. How age durable are the wraps?

Use a hood. Always. I had a real keeper shot at my moms church carnival that was ruined by flare. Darn.

.

Also, I kind of like shooting towards the sun because of the rim lighting effect. And I've seen a number of shots where the flare adds to the photo.

Hello I had the same issue (ER01) with a brand-new-just-out-of-the-box 5D and kit lens. I returned it and Amazon replaced it pronto. If it is new, why not start with a perfect one?

As the other posters have suggested - Buy a 5D now and be happy.

 

If you want the new next best thing then you should plan to wait 12-18 months after first introduction for them to get the software and manufacturing bugs out, and for the price to drop.

Hello I don't mean to hijack your thread but this is along the same line. I have 5D and I need a second battery. I am considering a sterling tech battery and charger. As I understand it a number of laptop batteries have shorted out and caused fires. Could this be a danger for this type/configuration battery? I'd hate to lose my $3000 camera for a $25 savings. Thanx

Hello I am midway through the process of sending 29 roll of C41 to Dale Labs for process and CD. Reasonably clean processing. The scans are OK (6Mpix). About $14.00 a roll (after shipping and handling) for CD only no prints.

That was my initial position.

 

But, after due consideration, I want the camera to start out in perfect condition. If it is repaired now will this problem arise again? And once the service center touches it I don't think Amazon will accept it back.

 

So I guess I'll have to be patient.

Well, wiser heads prevail. I'm returning it. Thanks all for your comments. I'm disappointed. But only for the moment.

Hello all. I have a strategy question.

 

I bought a Canon 5D with the kit 24-105 L IS lens from Amazon. When it arrived

yesterday I charged up the battery and put in a memory card (Lexar 4G x133).

It won't auto focus and I get an error message E01 (dirty contact?)

 

No lens auto focuses on this 5D body, and this lens works fine on all my other

EOS bodies. I cleaned the contacts and the problem remains.

 

Is this common for 5D bodies? I handled one in a store and it did this same

thing.

 

The Canon service center is just down from my house. Should I get it repaired

or return it to Amazon for replacement?

 

Shoot. What a disappointment. Amazon has a great return policy, and this is

all under warranty, but shoot. What a disappointment.

Hello Let me suggest - The wife and I were in Rome in October and it was wonderful -but- we didn't have enough time. Don't short yourself on time. 2)Much of what you shoot will be architectural(sp?). When you get home and correct the perspective on your computer you will be left with EMPTY white corners. Shoot with lots of slop in those kinds of shots so you can crop to a rectangular frame after the perspective corrections. Oh, and do have a great time!

Hello . What Rainer T said.

 

The 85/1.8 will produce spectacular portraits in the right hands. And the 50/1.8 is too good and too cheap to pass up.

 

By the way I do like the wedding portrait photos in you gallery.