mike simons

Folks -

 

My lovely, lovely, lovely, WONDERFUL wife just picked me up the $135.00 16mm

2.8 Zenitar fisheye for my 5D. I'd seen it in use by a pro at a wedding in

Austin, TX, and loved what he did with it. I've seen some examples at other

folks' sites using this funky lens - I wonder what you all could share as

a "Best Shot" from a wedding, using a fisheye. Call it best practices, call it

sharing, call it lightweight competition, I don't care - I'd just like to see

what people have done!

 

Mary, I believe this post works; saw you write in another poster's message

earlier in the week about requesting single-shot posts of "best practice"

examples for review. If I'm in err, just drop me an email, please.

 

Best,

Mike

Excellent perspective, William -- I may well rescind my comment above. Hadn't thought of precedent - word can, and likely will get around.

 

cheers,

Mike

Why not team around it? Figure out what might be appropriate, and split it? You both stand to benefit - them with the pics, you for your portfolio. Too, it's likely a small donation they're asking for -- what about doubling it, and splitting that? Go the extra mile, get a good name "in" with the historical society...

 

-mcs

No, kiddin', Paul? Huh...

 

just out of curiosity, what is it about the 550 that knows that the 580 was being fired off the button, and not the shoe? IR signal? Something else?

 

-mcs

Gut reaction, no - because I've never yet played with it. That's on my summer list of things to do. However, I could've easily engaged/set it unknowingly, since I'm not very educated on its use. Would that explain the symptoms above, NK?

 

-mcs

Hi, all --

 

I'll say right off that I'm in the middle of proctoring a test at our

highschool in the resource room; don't have all my gear here, nor all the

settings from my gear fresh in mind for the question I'm posing. If there are

any of you out there who can give me a lead on what's up, though, I'd

appreciate it...

 

Was shooting an event two weeks ago and pulled out my secondary strobe - a

550ex - to lend to a friend. On the walk back from our car, I set my 580ex to

Master and held the two a hand's-width apart, firing the 580 at the sensor on

the 550... 580 went off, and pause --- pause --- bam, 550 went off nearly a

1/2 second later.

 

I believe the 550 *was* set to slave.

 

Using one to trigger the other, shouldn't they go off instantaneously - at

least as perceived by human eyes? Or, do I have a misunderstanding of the

equipment? Or, is it a simple matter of settings? Or, is this somehow

related to the pre-flash I see often referenced in the forums?

 

Any and all help appreciated; I'm aware I'm shoddy on facts, but hope that

someone might take a bite at this one.

 

-mcs

Anyone else think that Sigma 200-500 looks like a pony keg attached to a DSLR?

 

-m.

Becca's got it -

 

Create the actions - for instance: 1) a Hue/Sat action, 2) a logo emboss action, 3) a vignette action, and 4) a image size action, etc., etc., ad nauseum....

 

Then, create a new action, and in the steps of it, activate each of the prior actions, in whichever preferred order.

 

Run the "Master" action, and it activates the first series of actions.

 

-mcs

I found the same thing this past weekend (weird that it just showed up here on the forums, too) --- but when I was firing ratio, I lost the ability to use the scroll whell for settings..... when the diffuser was OUT. Put it back in, and I was in business.

 

Anyone else?

 

-mcs

Conrad's a very good guy - rarely gets sucked into the flame wars that erupt here, so I wanted to help keep him in the clear.

 

-mcs

I think he/you meant to say "are not" in the last post.... right?

Agree with Mark - I have 32 of the Energizer 2600 mAh from, yes, Walmart (uuuugh). They work beautifully and last nearly alllll event for my twin 580ex's on 500-1,5000 shots. Use others in my 5D grip cartridge (saved my BUTT last Sunday), PocketWizards, and a bunch as spares.

I don't think so, Bob --- I believe she's talking about export, not import.... but you're right - a *huge* difference downloading from a USB 2.0 card reader, rather than a camera.

 

Anyone know why they don't just "put" USB 2.0 on-board in cameras? Is there something fundamental about the 'stuff' in a card reader that's incompatible with a camera? Not enough....space?

 

Anyhow, I think Meg's exporting....... Meg?

 

-mcs

Excellent advice, William --- thanks for chiming in!

 

-mcs

Funny you ask --- I work at the high school, so I'm just about as non-threatening as it can be. However, it's policy for the other photogs who ask, too, I believe....

 

I'd go in person... Easy to rebuff an email. Too, I'd do some research (don't know where to point you) to find out what laws in your area dictate....

 

Anyone else have a tip?

 

 

-mcs

Many schools - whether right or wrong, ethical, invasive, etc - will supply the local photographers with a spreadsheet (or even labels!!) of the seniors' addresses. Ours does, and it makes life ridiculously easy.

 

Can't hurt to ask.

 

-MCS

One other problem many folks are having is the red "Out of Memory" that displays upside-down in the loupe window when you've maxed out the system. I researched it a bit on the Adobe forums, and found many references in relation to giving the LR database an "exemption" from real-time virus scanning. If your anti-virus software sifts each new file opened (word docs, jpgs, spreadsheets, whatever), then it's almost constantly scanning when you're using LR. Set a rule in your AV software to ignore the database (often housed in MyDocs/Pictures/Lightroom/) and you reclaim some memory/speed. I made the change a few days ago and haven't had the OOM message displayed since (and had been getting it once a day).

 

Would this affect Meg's exporting? Likely not, but I figured I'd contribute it anyway.

 

I welcome any other thoughts-

-mcs

Michael -

 

This question has come up from time to time; I wrote a resource for folks in your position who're getting into it the first time. It's not highly techincal; the original questions I fielded dealt more with the people-handling aspects of the night. Try it out:

 

http://www.mikesimonsphotography.com/prom.html

 

I have five proms and six semi-formals under my belt at our local high school (where I teach); next one is in two weeks.... !

 

Be in touch at your convenience -

 

-mike

So just to be clear about this (and prove I'm an idiot) -- I already have it on the right setting and 1) didn't know it and 2) can do precisely what I want to, as outlined above.

 

Well whaddya know....

 

many thanks, gents

 

-mike

Hi, All -

 

Been looking for an answer; haven't been able to decipher it yet (and possibly

it's because I'm asking the wrong/right question the wrong/right way)....

 

I've thrown my focus onto the * button via CF04-1 ---- love it!

 

Is the arrangement with the * button an either/or for Focus vs. Exposure ---

meaning, I know I can meter with the shutter button and have my focus locked

via * button. Can I, however, have focus locked on * AND exposure locked

(after metering off a subject's face, for example) with another button...?

 

I'm assuming it's CF04-2 or -3, but can't make heads or tails of it. Maybe I

need more coffee.

 

Thanks in advance -

Mike

Also from PacSafe: http://chaseharper.stores.yahoo.net/ps1206.html

 

Looks like it's more briefcase sized.

 

-Mike

Howdy --

 

Looking for battery advice:

 

Can't move into the realm of Quantuum SC or anything in the next year or so,

and I'm looking for input/feedback anyone has on NiMH AA's or AA sets (4-8

batteries, or more, with charger) that they've had a great deal of success

with. I know the higher the mAh, the better off we are, but didn't know if

folks had any horror stories or good experiences to share within the realm of

AA's.

 

Mine will be for my two 580EX's; ETTL, event photography... day-long affairs,

etc.

 

Hope that's enough for some feedback. Thanks!

 

-Mike

Randall -

 

Some semi-non-specific help here; I think I remember Strobist.com just doing a feature on event shooting & printing.... could be wrong. If so, apologies. Could've also been in Shutterbug or another resource --- anyone able to back me up on this?

 

-mcs

Dan -

 

Had to chuckle aloud when I read your comment --- I can 110% appreciate the sentiment, and find it funny because his style really works for me (not sure what that says of my intellect or self, but.....) and given my role as a digital photography teacher in a public school here in NY, my kids've taken well to it, too....

 

Alas, different strokes for different folks --- glad there've been so many thoughtful responses on this thread; PN is a fantastic place for this kind of stuff.

 

Be well, all -

-Mike

After seeing it first-hand, Kelby's book is worth its weight in gold. I met Scott two weeks ago at Photoshop World (incredibly gracious, down-to-earth guy, even if he is Photoshop royalty), and sat in on one of his sessions... The Lightroom book (just started shipping from Amazon) follows his same pattern from previous Adobe books, along with the humor and examples to keep things light and easy-to-follow.... Additionally, the last two chapters are what can really make the purchase worth it --- he takes a shoot from the shot all the way through sorting, editing, and post processing, start to finish --- one's a wedding shoot, and one's.... something else; can't remember. Anyhow, HUGE props to Kelby and his resource(s) -- check his site at www.scottkelby.com/blog -- rich in resources itself.

 

-Mike