hoffmanvision

Could it be that the auto focus is being fooled by the relatively dark subject against the bright background?

The problem I've been having is with brides against a window, so yes the light source is in the frame. When shooting into the sun I've had shots with the typical lens "flare" effects which I often don't mind but on these backlit window shots, where the bright light source is essentially wrapping around the subject, the softness becomes so bad it almost looks out of focus. Here's an example:<div></div>

I've recently discovered that when shooting backlit subjects with my new D300 they are almost always losing

sharpness. I don't remember having this same problem with my D70 but maybe I just didn't notice because none of

the shots on that body were as sharp as what I'm getting today. Lenses with this problem include the 17-35 f/2.8,

50 f/1.8, & Tokina 12-24 f/4. I'm just wondering if there is a name for this problem and whether it's a symptom

of the body, the lens, or my technique. Thanks for your insights!

Well, Guess it's finally time to bite the QR bullet- in the mean time can anyone recommend an adhesive for fixing this mess?

I recently made this upgrade and I can tell you that you will see a visible difference! The sharpness in so much greater on the D300 it will blow you away. Plus the new focusing system has me going from 65% sharp shots to well over 95% when doing something difficult like sports photography. Hurray for the AF-ON button! Color, Dynamic range, it's all better- the only things I miss from the D70 are 5 meg files to edit and the unlimited sync speed!

 

This just in:::::get the D700 instead!

Has anyone been using the R-strap? It looks really interesting but I'd like to hear how it works for real

photographers. Thanks!

 

www.blackrapid.com

I use a 17-35 f/2.8 and an 80-200 f/2.8 for the vast majority of my shots at a wedding. Both ranges are super useful for my style. I used to own the 18-70 but I assure you, it is not as sharp as the 17-35 and it's not as sharp as the 24-120. Also, you just can't get that extra light that a faster lens will provide. I realize the 17-35 (or the 17-55 nikkor) is a bit out of your price range but definitely look into something faster for those low light situations. As mentioned, I hear the Sigma 30 f/1.4 is sweet. I also own the Tamron 90 macro- it's sharp and cheap- I use it for all kinds of detail shots. If you have no macro consider one to add more versatility to your style. And then there's the 50 f/1.8. I also use this one a bit for portraits (usually not full body), I don't know what I'd do without its shallow DOF.

 

All in all, looking at what you have now, I'd probably choose to add a fast lens in the range of what you use most often, sounds like the 50 f/1.8 + f/85 1.8 perhaps?

 

You have a bunch of slowish zooms that overlap in range- sell some of them and use the money to buy one or two fast zooms! You could unload the 18-70, the 28-105, and the 70-210 and you'd still have all that range covered by the 18-200.

This is what I've been waiting for...like ever since I went into the local camera store and got my hands on the not-quite-ready-for-the-big-time D100 and wasn't impressed enough to give up film. I knew this day was coming!!!! Hurray! There will be much rejoicing throughout the land!

To clarify, this was not a QR plate, my ball head screws directly to the camera and has a large rubber coated surface area in contact with the base of the camera. You can see the circular shape of it where the rubber is scuffed in the photo above. That rubber on rubber action just locked together! Shame.

I'm fuming today! The very first time I mounted my D300 + MB-D10 to my Bogen 488 ball head, the rubber on rubber

of each unit locked together and couldn't be unscrewed. It was so stuck that I thought I had somehow cross

threaded the mount. Eventually, I was able to get it loose but in the process, the rubber bottom of the MB-D10

was a bit shredded and completely peeled back, plus the rubber pad on the 488 peeled off as well. Trust me

everyone, I didn't over-tighten this. I've mounted cameras to this ball head hundreds of times without incident.

It really just seems Nikon chose a bad place to have a thin rubber coating.

 

This is just a warning to all MB-D10 users. I think applying thin coat of lube would probably solve the problem-

wish I'd have known ahead of time. Do you think this will be treated as a warranty issue by Nikon?<div></div>

I am trying to decide on a remote for the D300. One feature I will be using is

the intervalometer but it seems this is now built into the D300. Does the MC-36

offer any other compelling reason to buy it over a cheap eBay 10-pin release?

 

Thanks

You may want to consider the polarizer. They don't always work, like when shooting toward or away from the sun or when there is much moisture in the atmosphere, but when all the conditions are right, a polarizer can deepen and darken a blue sky by a couple stops compared to your subject.

 

I've tried using flash (low powered shoe mount) to overcome the sunlight, but they are simply too low powered to do much, even four of them, I had to work in very very close to the subject. The exception is my D70 which can flash sync at any shutter speed. I was able to trim the ambient light enough when using 1/1000 - 1/2000 sec. with a wider aperture and Sb-28s.

 

If you don't have a Nikon D1, D70, D50, or D40 (which sync at any speed when using non-dedicated flash heads) you'll want some real high powered lights to overcome the sun at 1/250 sec.

 

Oh and yes, reflector stands almost always tip over in even the slightest gust of wind. Bring an assistant or stake it down with some twine.

Got it Mary- Sorry, I haven't posted here for a while.

 

To all those suggesting I try a shoulder bag or backpack for wedding work- thanks for the input but I've gone down that road before- it's never worked well for me. I can't stand it when a shoulder bag is swinging around, digging into my neck, being set down, picked up, using up a good hand to control when maneuvering, hanging down in front when I bend over; it's more hassle than it's worth!

 

Years of backpacking as well as running through airports with various types of luggage has taught me the beauty of putting the weight on the hips. It would be a hard sell for someone to tell me putting 20+ pounds of gear on my hips will screw up my back- last time I checked my spine ends at my pelvis so a modular belt system might just be the best thing I could do for my back in this profession, well, aside from having an assistant carry everything! A shoulder bag, now that's a great way to hurt you back.

 

And Nadine: trust me, I'd love to lighten my load but not at the expense of being without the right lens at the right time. Many of the ceremonies I've shot (especially outdoor) have me constantly cruising around. Leaving a lens at the car or at a picnic table can mean missing a once-only shot or worse- cost me valuable time away from the event which leads to stress and rushing.

 

Ellis- it sounds like you carry a similar amount of gear as I do. Which Modulus components do you use for all that stuff. Above Nadine recommended trying to get more than one lens into a pack to save padding space. Do you do this with a "speed changer" or is it a one-pouch-per-lens deal for you?

 

Thanks again for all the replies-

Matt-

 

Thanks a bunch this is just the info I was needing!

Thanks for the replies so far!

 

Matt- I'm leaning toward the setup you've got- but with maybe one more lens stash. Thanks a bunch for including the pictures. BTW how big a lens can you fit in the Lens Changer 15 and the Lens Drop In? I'm needing to carry a 11-16 f/2.8, a 17-35 f/2.8, and a 50 f/1.8. Thanks again

Hi everyone,

 

I'm looking to upgrade my equipment carrying system this year due to constant

irritation with my current setup. Last year I was shooting out of a LowePro

backpack- it worked great for transporting gear to the location but not so well

for working out of. I was using two D70's, one with a wide (12-24), one with a

tele (80-200), and I had a 17-35, a 50, a 90 macro, and an SB-800 floating

around as well. I was constantly setting one camera down on the floor to grab a

shot, running back to the corner to switch lenses, stuffing a 50 1.8 in my

slacks pocket, etc. Lens caps would always be a pain to find---it was a

nightmare---I couldn't stay focused on the wedding because I was so distracted

by my gear.

 

So this year I've made a commitment to solving the problem- and I'll be shooting

a bit differently. Instead of two D70's w/ lenses mounted, I will have one D300

and the D70 will merely be a backup. This means lens changes much more

frequently- which I'm willing to accept- if I can get things changed quickly,

stay organized, and remain focused on the Bride & Groom.

 

I've been eyeing the Think Tank Modulus system for a couple weeks now. It looks

to be awesome for what I need but I can't decide which direction to take it

because I have no local dealer. On the one hand, I could go with the Speed

Freak/Racer belt bag with a couple add on lens holders or I could go completely

modular, get a harness, a holster and the whole-nine-yards.

 

Has anyone had experience with this equipment an if so what worked well and what

didn't? Does the Speed Racer type bag lend itself to quick changes or does stuff

tend to get cluttered in there? My main concern is having all the stuff I need

on my body so I can shoot all day without setting anything down. I want my lens

hoods in ready-to-shoot position at all times. I want to be able to grab lenses

and shove them back into place in split second time.

 

Thanks for the input!

Jim, Thank you- exactly what I needed!

Hi there all, I've just started shooting weddings professionally this summer and

now I need some help with my contract. I've come across many examples of wedding

contracts from which I've drawn to build my own- no problem there. However, one

of my packages includes a high-resolution DVD of all the images. In my contract

it states that when purchasing the DVD the client has rights to reproduce any

and all images for personal use.

 

From what I gather, the client will need a "reprint release" in order to have

the files reprinted at their local lab. What does this reprint release include?

I assume it's fairly simple but does anyone have an example they could share?

 

Thanks!<div></div>

Ellis!

 

This is exactly what I've been looking for. Who would have thought we'd have to go back to the library for full export control...apparently you. Awesome advice, much appreciated.

 

However, now I feel like I'm missing out on this ProPhoto profile business. Do you have any recommended readings on the subject? I've just started printing my own stuff to my Epson 2200 w/ ImagePrint RIP- I guess it's time to go all 16 bit, eh?

 

Thanks again.

Sean

Whenever I use Adobe Lightroom (beta 4) and then export a file to Photoshop for

further editing, Lightroom embeds the ProPhoto color profile. I shoot and edit

in AdobeRGB and I'd prefer to keep my whole workflow in one profile.

 

Is there any negative effect of converting to and from profiles? It seems to me

that some of my color gamut might get clipped somewhere in the process. Should I

just accept the ProPhoto profile and work with/save my tiffs this way in Photoshop?

 

Is there a way to tell Lightroom to export in another profile?

 

Thanks,

Sean

My workflow is slowly getting better- but I'm really hung up when I need to

resize photos for the web. In photoshop I see the ability to batch resize but

only by width or height. This leaves me with good results but only for either

landscape or portrait, not both. Does anyone know of a good tool for batch

resizing and or watermarking that is cheap or free? What are you pros using?

 

Thanks,

Sean Hoffman

A larger version of the pic above:<div></div>

Hey everyone, thanks for the input. I still haven't gotten any Pocket Wizards but I did some tests with the cheapo eBay 16 channel radio slaves. There are some interesting results. 1/800th seems to be the upper speed limit- but not because of sync timing. I can sync with full exposure up to 1/1250th but some strange articacts, or ... I don't even know what to call them, start to appear.

 

Check out the bottom edge of my soft box and you'll notice (esp. on the 1/1000th shot) the bizzarness. Any body have a clue what would cause this?

 

I'm shooting from about 8-10ft away. The results are very repeatable with the anomolies occuring in the same proximity to the softbox over and over, regardless of zoom or distance.

 

What is up my friends?<div></div>

Dave- I shoot a lot of high speed sports that often don't allow me to get the lights close enough to my subject to over power the sunlight. High shutter speeds help tremendously in allowing me to open up the aperture for greater flash sensitivity and still keep down the ambient. What's cheaper: 2400 w/s portable pack and head units shot at 1/250 or 200 w/s shoemounts/lumedynes shot at 1/1000th?

 

The picture below had to be shot with a flash on the shoe because I didn't have light stands or long sync cords back then. Now its all about getting some Wizards!<div></div>

Hi everyone. I have a Nikon D70, one of the only cameras made that can flash

sync at any speed due to it's true electronic shutter release/sensor activation.

I've shot 1/8000 sec with a lumedyne attached via hotshoe to PC cord with

perfect sync.

 

I'm thinking of getting into a Pocket Wizard setup and I want to know how fast

the message is sent. I've read somewhere that the MultiMax has a "high speed"

mode that can sync @ 1/1000 but what about the old school PW Plus models? If

anyone has tried this setup, let me know what happens- how far can you push it?

 

I do alot of outdoor sports and I like my 1/1000 sync!!! Just another reason to

stay satisfied with the status quo and skip over the D200.

 

Thanks