steve.elliott

"Are you concerned about the gap between 55mm and 70mm?" - basically yes.

 

Also, perhaps I should have mentioned I do have a backup camera (Canon 350d) and a battery grip.

I want to get another lens for a wedding I've been asked to shoot next year,

but am undecided on one of two lenses. I have the following (add 1.6

multiplyer - Canon 30D.)

 

17-55 IS f2.8, 85 f1.8 prime and a 70-300 DO IS f4.5-5.6.

 

I'm thinking of filling the mid range with either a 24-70L f2.8 or a 24-105L

IS f4. Now I'll need to allow for low light indoor locations so that would

seem to favour the 24-70 f2.8 - but is it too heavy to lug about the place or

cause camera shake through lack of IS? In comparison to the IS lenses the non-

IS prime does seem to move quite a bit.

 

Also, should I then trade-in the 85mm f1.8 prime? Any advice would be

appreciated.

Another vote for the 85mm f1.8 - it produces pin sharp images, focusing is very fast and is very good in low light with the f1.8 aperture - and it's cheap for the quality.

 

For the distance you're talking about and the 1.6 multiplyer(136mm) it seems ideal.

I'm also very concerned about this situation. Safety is very important obviously - but we have to be sensible about how this affects the travel industry and how people travel.

 

I returned from my holiday in July and sitting next to the emergency exit was told I couldn't put my camera bag under my seat - I would have to put it in the overhead compartment. The way some people pull out their bags I had visions of my expensive camera (and lenses) flying out of the locker and smashing on the floor - luckily that never happened.

 

Now I have the prospect of possibly having to check-in my even more expensive kit (upgraded) being thrown in the hold next year!

 

It looks like hand luggage is now being allowed back on planes - but that could change again. The terrorists have won if we are unable to take the possesions we want on holiday without fear of damage - and we're talking about very expensive kit like laptops, SLR cameras, lenses and Photo storage devices.

 

I don't mind my equipment being scanned and I'll take out any gear for examination - but perhaps we need to contact the relevant authorities to explain that not everybody takes cheap disposeable cameras on holiday!

Thanks for the responses, I've never heard of B+W before. It seems their polarizer is highly recommended.

Anybody else with an opinion? Not just for this lens - in general.

 

I've got a couple of polarizers from Jessops (for different lens sizes) and use a Cokin neutral grad - my Hoya polarizer broke (probably too tightly attached).

I now have a Canon EF-S 17-55 F2.8 IS Lens, which is a big step-up in optical

quality to the lenses I've had before.

 

I don't want to compromise this extra quality with a poor polarizer and

neutral grad filter - what do you recommend?

As Gareth mentioned the Rebel/350d has a very small grip which is uncomfortable.

 

If you can save up for a bit longer I'd recommend the 30d instead (I now have both) and it makes the 350d look and feel like a toy, as well as being a much better camera.

"If you shoot a scene with only three stops of difference between highlights and shadows, and the histogram covers five stops, then you should see two stops worth of nothing on the histogram"

 

Ofcourse - that makes perfect sense. Thanks guys, I haven't used the histogram much but I now fully understand how to interpret it.

Well my point was that the camera should expose correctly - it seems to do that but I'll have to wait until I get back from holiday to make some adjustments to the levels for a better photo.

"Maybe it is a better picture, it is certainly a higher contrast picture, but it is a poor representation of what was present."

 

Ah, I see - better picture but not a true reflection of what the camera sees - thanks Alistair.

 

Thanks for the article Thomas - the desert photo histogram (before adjustment) is what I'm talking about - but it seems that it's not an exposure problem afer all.

 

I know all about Curves from my black and white conversions Paul - it's better for a stronger effect, but I like to adjust my levels first and see how things look.

Maybe you're right, but the examples of histograms I've seen all start at the left (without clipping) and end at the right side (again without clipping). Also, adjusting the left and right sliders in levels (using photoshop) much improves the photograph, so surely the camera should not require this extra manipulation?

But in Photoshop we are told to bring-in the sliders to each end of the graph to correct this - I can't see why the camera can't get it right first time.

I own a Canon EOS 350D and check my histogram after taking a photograph

(usually in Aperture priority Mode).

 

But I tend to find the graph has gaps on the left and right, which I

understand is lack of contrast.

 

What am I doing wrong? Many thanks, Steve.