neil_v.

Thanks for the ideas.

 

Hacking an OCSC looks like a win. I'll get at least one off-camera strobe firing that way.

 

Also, by putting a 580EX on the end of the cable in ETTL II master mode, the fixed position of that will be more likely than ST-E2 on moving camera to maintain a wireless link with slaves.

 

I did use 580EX 1/500 high-speed sync at an outdoor test shoot this afternoon under lightly cloudy skies, and outside of the shade it was good for fill at least at several meters.

 

As a backup-backup plan for the outdoor shoots, I should bring extra reflectors and $20 bills for recruited bystander assistants.

Any thoughts on

running fiber optic

cable between EX

strobes and ST-E2

outdoors?

 

I have a few

low-budget/non-profit editorial

shoots outdoors this

summer, to be shot

with ST-E2 and

multiple EX strobes

using high-speed

sync for 1/500.

 

I'm concerned that

occasionally I'll be

at a shoot and won't

be able to work

around the ambient

IR to get E-TTL II

to work wirelessly.

I'd like to have a

backup plan other

than moving to a

single on-camera

strobe.

 

A RadioPopper P1 kit

would do the trick,

though that's

pricier than I'd

like ($180 per

receiver or

transmitter).

 

Which leads me to

the idea of keeping

a couple coils of

optic cable and with

some kind of pickup

on the end, that I

can gaffer-tape to

the fronts of

strobes and ST-E2 in

an emergency.

 

Another option is to

mod the EX strobes

with sync jacks, but

then my max sync is

1/250, which won't

always be

sufficient.

 

Thoughts?

The other day, I noticed that I could no longer turn the manual focus ring of my

17-35/2.8L more than 2-3 cm.

 

Is there a secret trick to fix this (e.g., "microwave on high for 10 seconds,

then give it a good whack on the table"), other than sending it to Canon for

$150 or whatever they charge lately? Or is there a shop in Boston able to work

on the lens as well as Canon would, but for less money?

 

Details follow...

 

The travel of the ring is not smooth, as there is a "bump" of sorts in the middle.

 

Also, as the travel of the ring leaves one end of its current range, there is a

barely perceptible "tacky" sound, as if some weak adhesive were being pulled apart.

 

The manual focus ring remains locked, regardless of whether or not the lens is

mounted, whether the switch is in AF or MF mode, and the position of the zoom ring.

 

The piece of the lens with the red ring on it is slightly loose (wobbles ever so

slightly), but was that way when I bought the lens and the manual focus was

working, so I figured it was normal or benign.

 

Autofocus is fine.

 

I have no good theories as to what triggered this problem. I recently bought

the lens used from an honest pro, and it does not appear to have been abused.

It's not seen any trauma in the few weeks I've had it, other than been exposed

to cold air on a few walks.

Another followup for people reading the archive...

 

That Chimera ring worked fine once the softbox was assembled. Assembly took around 20 minutes, perhaps due to very tight fit of the mixture of rods I have.

 

If I had it to do over, I might order the collapsible ring instead.

Thanks for the info. I've ordered a Chimera 2520 ring, which sounds like it'll work fine. $44 + S&H from B&H.

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/13832-REG/Chimera_2520_Speed_Ring_for_White.html

I was very fortunate to inherit a White Lightning Ultra 1800 monolight and a

large Wafer softbox. I have some rods, but need a ring.

 

It appears that, even if I can find a working ring (or a ring and adapter

combination), I'm probably looking at $75-$150.

 

Anyone got a cheaper way to do this? Perhaps there's some $5 aluminum part from

Home Depot that can be drilled for the rods, is a perfect fit, and won't melt?

 

Or perhaps someone with a milling machine in their basement makes exotic

speedrings as a labor of love for a nominal $25?

Unfortunate domain name for a mail-order camera reseller, what with people subconsciously picking up on the "scam'er", dead-center... ;)

My Tamron 17-50/2.8 occasionally has shockingly bad CA at 2.8. (This isn't a cameraphone!) If I didn't often need 2.8, I'd get a Canon 17-40/4L.

 

Subjectively, from practical shooting, my Canon 70-200/4L regularly blows me away with contrast and color, and I haven't yet had that reaction to my Tamron 17-50.

 

The Canon lenses are also superior in build quality and cosmetics.

Personally, I'd lean towards the fast and wide, especially in winter. If I could take only one of those lenses for walkaround, the 28-70/2.8L. Maybe stick the 50/1.8 in a sock in my luggage, for gifts-openings shots.

What gloves do people like for winter outdoor photography?

 

More specifically, I need something that lets me keep a good grip on my gear,

operate the controls, and not slow down my "draw" too much.

 

Shooting an outdoor protest in Boston in January for example, I might have to be

outside for an hour or more, take hundreds of shots, and be ready for sudden action.

 

The seemingly closest gloves I've found are from Lowepro (once the branding has

been subdued with black Sharpie):

 

http://lowepro.com/Products/Accessories/add_ons_upgrades/Photo_Gloves.aspx

 

The Kinco Pro Series Handler Gloves also look like they might work:

 

http://www.gemplers.com/a/shop/product.asp?T1=134131-2X

 

Suggestions from photojournalists?

I think that a search of the photo.net archives will suggest several ideas involving Ziploc bags for keeping condensation off the lens. Another idea I recall involved keeping the camera in a cupboard with a light bulb.

 

I never put gear in cases until I'm confident it's thoroughly dry. I also have bags of silica gel in the cases, just in case that ever helps. So far, I've been fortunate.

 

Condolences on your camera gear getting the cancer. At this point, you need a thorough professional cleaning that removes all trace of fungus, or it'll just grow back and cross-contaminate.

I keep my 50/1.4 for portraiture with my 1.6X-crop 350D.

 

For a general-purpose prime lens on a 1.6x-crop, I find 50mm too long.

I find myself wanting to back up further than I can to fit everything in the frame. I'd get something closer to 30mm (after reading many reviews about particular lenses, since I often hear complaints about Canon primes around that focal length).

All the electrical tape I've used leaves a sticky residue as it slides over time. Gaffer's tape is a bit better, residue-wise, and also isn't shiny.

 

Similarly, you could put adhesive-backed velcro pads on the lens and hood, and place a complementary velcro strip across both when hood is mounted.

 

A rubber band in the gap between lens and hood might work.

 

Or wrap many turns of teflon plumber's tape either around the hood mount ring of the lens or (if possible, and they're broken) around the plastic latches of the lens hood.

 

Or you might just "penny" the gap by wedging a piece of cardboard or folded paper into the gap whenever you mount the hood.

I've had this problem shooting modern dance rehearsals: the dancers can hear the mirror slap and perhaps the shutter of my 350D. I suspect they'll also be able to hear the noisy AF motor on my new Tamron 17-50/2.8.

 

Fortunately, the dancers can keep time despite the noise. (I was a bit worried during one rehearsal, when a musician was giving counts on a drum.) I'd never shoot with it this noisy during a performance, however.

 

Next time, for the wide shots I can do with tripod, I'm going to try using mirror lockup, to get rid of much of the noise. Maybe for some of the handheld ones too.

When I first received my 70-200/4L (from B&H, USA warranty version) a few months ago, I noticed that rotating the lens 90 degrees (as if it were attached to the camera body and one was moving from landscape to portrait orientation), caused a soft knock sound.

 

I don't know the mechanics of the lens, but the knock sounded like it could've been something inside the tube loose enough to wiggle around and hit the side of the tube rather than only move smoothly along the length of the tube.

 

Initially, I had a difficult time getting consistently sharp shots, which made me suspicious of the knocking noise. However, that was probably due to the 70-200/4L being heavier than my prior long lens. I still have occasional soft shots, but I just attribute those to fallible handhold technique and always take 2-3 exposures at a time

(in burst mode) to be safe.

 

If most people's 70-200/4L lenses have no discernible knock sound when rotated, perhaps I should send mine in while the warranty's good and the weather's bad.

For wide-angle on my XT, I went from the 18-55 to the 17-85 IS, and then recently replaced that with the Tamron 17-50/2.8.

 

I replaced the 17-85 IS mainly it was simply too slow for dance photography. I haven't yet developed a fondness for the Tamron.

 

Canon: it's not too late to slip a stellar 20/2.8 replacement into the Photokina announcements!

As a hobbyist, for available-light portraits, I use a Canon EF 50mm/1.4 on 1.6x crop, and have no complaints. B&H presently sells this lens in the US for $315.

 

(I keep this lens solely for available-light portraits, since it's otherwise usually too short or long for my other shooting around Boston. For non-portraits, I use Canon 70-200/4L and Tamron 17-50/2.8.)

 

The $80 Canon EF 50mm/2.8 II was also quite good. I upgraded to the 50mm/1.4 to get even faster, slightly better bokeh, a better focus ring, a distance scale, 58mm filter threads. Note that "better construction" isn't a great reason to upgrade from the 1.8 II to the 1.4, given that the 1.4 has a reputation for fragility (and that you could buy a 1.8 and three spares for the cost of a 1.4).

I'd like an updated 20mm/2.8, perhaps faster in addition, with a US street price of $300 to $450.

 

(I just spent $450 on a Tamron 17-50/2.8, and I felt a better match for my needs would've been a hypothetical new version of the Canon 20mm/2.8.)

I suspect the "cheap batteries from eBay" have poorer quality control than the Canon-branded ones.

 

I'd heard mostly good things about the eBay batteries, so I bought an extended-life one from a popular vendor. I've only used it for three cycles thus far, and it's exhibited only a fraction of the charge of the Canon battery, no matter how long it's left in the charger.

 

I suppose I could simply buy *several* cheap batteries, and shelve the ones that prove substandard.

For what it's worth, Square Trade will never see a cent from me.

 

I recently had a disillusioning experience involving Square Trade and a crooked Brooklyn-based reseller who continues to operate on eBay.

 

Thankfully, eBay will soon have competition from Google, and I hope that resulting market forces will cause eBay to scrap farces like Square Trade -- in favor of actually reining in criminality, rather than supporting it.

For shooting modern dance with my XT in very close quarters, I'd like a fast (at

least f/2.8) rectilinear lens that is 20mm or wider, and approaching the image

quality of my 50/1.4.

 

Presently, I use a 17-85 at the wide end for the wide shots, which isn't fast

enough, and is otherwise only so-so optically.

 

The $1800 Canon 14/2.8L would be great, but it's 6 times my budget.

 

I'm open to a used manual focus lens with a mount adapter, as well as to a

really nice f/2.8 zoom that covers the focal length range 20mm-70mm (which would

let me trade-in several lenses).

Thanks, Peter. Seems the charger thinks the battery is charged to at least 90% but less than 100%, even after hours of charging.

 

This doesn't inspire confidence, but I guess one can't be too picky about a $10 rechargeable battery. I've dubbed it a last-resort backup battery, and added it to the bag.

What does it mean when the Canon CB-2LT battery charger's LED blinks alternating

red and green?

 

I noticed this after leaving a new "NB-2LH compatible" from eBay's ACCStation in

the charger for a few hours.

 

The documentation and Google were unhelpful.

 

I'm not going to use my 350D to test a now-suspicious $10 battery.

KEH.com has an "EX"-grade used non-IS at the moment for $820, which is only $300 less than a *new IS* at B&H.

 

On eBay, where used EF lenses often sell for B&H new price, used copies of the non-IS 300/4L recently sold for $600-$930.

 

If I were buying a used non-IS in excellent-or-better condition from a reputable private party outside of eBay, I'd expect to pay $500-$600.

I found multiple hot pixels in my XT's sensor a week ago. (This was very disappointing in a DSLR, incidentally.)

 

I delayed sending it to Canon for warranty repair because the weather was so nice.

 

Does anyone know whether Canon replaces the sensor or simply maps out bad pixels?