fxt1

May 8, 2014

ok - thanks! Very helpful. If anyone has any suggestions for other models to look at do let me know!

Otherwise I think I'm leaning towards the nec spectraview 272 - which is on for £1179.. It says it comes with a "CD-ROM with SpectraView® Profiler Software and manual" so I also need to purchase an additional calibration sensor? If so - what would you recommend? I've not used spectraview before..

I am still looking at the eizo CG276 which is on for £1499 and does use LED backlights.. as well as being 'self calibrating' and comes with 5 years warranty.. don't know if anyone has any thoughts on that?

May 8, 2014

is the GB-R LED backlight in the NEC 272 worth the £400 extra than the CCFL backlight in the Eizo CX270 or does no one have any experience of those eizo monitors?

May 6, 2014

So the general feeling is that the reduced price Eizo is a good deal, at least for now until 4k units drop in price?

May 6, 2014

I'm currently on the hunt for a new 27" monitor (pro photographer specialising in portraiture).. I just came across the<a href="http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-eizo-coloredge-cx270-27-inch-black-monitor/p1535933"> eizo coloredge CX270</a> massively reduced at £749.. I've read a lot of great things about the NEC Spectra view range - and both the<a href="http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-nec-spectraview-reference-242-led-backlight-24-inch-monitor/p1544989"> reference</a> and <a href="http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-nec-spectraview-272-lcd-27-inch-monitor/p1545391">non-reference </a>versions are available at almost the same prices.. £1179-1199.. not clear what the difference is between the two...?

The eizo also comes with calibration gear and has a built in color correction sensor & comes with 5 years warranty... which sounds quite appealing, but I'm so out of date I don't if I'm missing something obvious as to why it's £300 cheaper (The eizo is retailing on other sites for around the same price as the nec models) .. Any thoughts?

Are there any other 27" models I should be looking at? I just need something with great resolution, colour accuracy, portrait swivel and a few USB inputs that's not too harsh on the eyes if editing for long periods.. (budget £600-1200)

Thanks in advance!

April 10, 2014

I'm looking to get a NAS Storage device but pretty behind on best tech on the market.. could use some feedback from anyone who's a bit better versed in the specific needs of a photographer?

I need a large amount of storage, and a really simple system that can be programmed to auto-backup any new or changed files from my main working system.. (I think I can do this via robocopy with the /mir option?).. Got a large amount of data (currently around 12TB but constantly growing.. so needs to be moderately expandable for the next few years - at least up to 16TB).. Not planning to work off the drives, just to archive work and be able to access individual image files moderately easily over the network when I need to access old images.

Really like the look of these two 8 bay drives, and they have good reviews on smartnetbuilder:

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/nas/nas-reviews/32157-synology-ds1813-diskstation-reviewed

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/nas/nas-reviews/32071-qnap-ts-869pro-nas-reviewed

Wondering if anyone has any experience with either, and which you'd recommend? Also - advice on the best configuration? I've not set up any RAID systems before... and I intend to keep copies of all valuable work on another system.. and would be quite content use these in a hot-swappable JBOD configuration.. but I'm guessing that's not advisable?

Any help/thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

August 26, 2013

I'm currently on the hunt for a simple piece of software or customizable cloud based website which is going to produce a classy contact sheet type digital proofing gallery for my clients (mainly magazines selecting shots for editorial and actors selecting their headshots - just selection, definitely no selling of shots via the gallery, but a built in feedback system would be very helpful)...

Have been using svbuilder-pro for years.. eg: <a href="http://www.fayethomas.com/creative/">http://www.fayethomas.com/creative/</a> which is rather tedious as doesn't retain customizable settings, so have to fiddle manually every time I upload a new client gallery, and then upload via ftp.. and it has no proofing / feedback system built in. And also won't display properly on some mobile devices..

Just wondering if there's a clean digital contact sheet type interface aimed at professional photographers specifically for proofing.. any ideas?

Came across

<a href="http://www.smugmug.com/pro">http://www.smugmug.com/pro</a>

<a href="http://pixieset.com/">http://pixieset.com/</a>

- but they do seem aimed more at the e-commerce / wedding photography type photographer.. if anyone has any feedback for other options, or comments on the above it'd be much appreciated.

Thanks!

March 15, 2013

Thanks for the feedback guys.. Ended up going with a beauty dish - dead on, subject slightly off the background with black v-flats on one side.. worked great, even if not exactly the same set-up... the same intensity and high contrast... got some seriously hot photos of a very exciting actor. Will post a link when they're published. :)

March 14, 2013

Just come across this shot, and absolutely love it.. but trying to figure out what the set up is...

<a href="http://attheloft.typepad.com/.a/6a00e54ecca8b98833017d3da1487c970c-pi">http://attheloft.typepad.com/.a/6a00e54ecca8b98833017d3da1487c970c-pi</a>

There's two catch lights, and obviously one large light to the right of the camera, and one smaller light coming in from above left... but I can't figure it out.. any ideas?

<a href="http://attheloft.typepad.com/.a/6a00e54ecca8b98833017ee5164e6c970d-pi">http://attheloft.typepad.com/.a/6a00e54ecca8b98833017ee5164e6c970d-pi</a>

Similar this - the catch lights appear to be round, but could be rectangular? Really gorgeous light... any suggestions?

Here's the rest of that particular shoot: <a href="http://www.imageamplified.com/2012/11/gq-magazine-michael-fassbender-by-nino-munoz-2012-wwwimageamplifiedcom-image-amplified.html">http://www.imageamplified.com/2012/11/gq-magazine-michael-fassbender-by-nino-munoz-2012-wwwimageamplifiedcom-image-amplified.html</a>

Trying to recreate something quite similar tomorrow, so any advice would be greatly appreciated..

March 12, 2013

Hi Walter, yes - I'm definitely doing that. This is a separate system. This is just a new editing PC, not a storage solution.

I'm going to buy an external NAS server for that.. and also going to keep the current HDDs (which although the same make - were purchased separately at different times, so not all the same batch/age) as extra backup in the current machine. I just need to be able to stick them in there and copy a lot of the photos to new HDDs initially.. then I shall have 3 backups! I do have a good surge protector.. and critical data is hosted on my web server..

Any feedback on the componants listed above?

March 12, 2013

I'm currently trying to build a new PC to replace my current workstation - I need a really powerful machine that's going to last a few years... any advice on the following components would be greatly appreciated.. feel rather clueless about modern tech! (And yes, I'm definitely getting a PC, not a mac.. unless anyone can find something with equivalent spec for the same price!)

Primary Usage: many hours of intensive photo editing of large files (RAW & jpg), bulk conversions, potentially film editing and rendering.. a lot of intense, memory consuming work... (no gaming)

Primary Needs: A chassis with as many 3.5HDD slots as possible - I've got at least 6 archived 1TB WD HDs which I'd like to be able to slot into the new PC, I may build a server in the future, but this is more urgent as I've run out of space! Lots of ram, super fast processor, hdmi, dvi and if possible VGA output.. Also - USB 3.0, and plenty of space inside the case.. I have an issue with my current machine in that there's not enough space between the HDD slots and the graphics card to fit an extra HDD into my only remaining slot...

This is my current quote: <a href="http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-ivy-bridge-pc/aomhrIADOr/" target="_blank">http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes...pc/aomhrIADOr/</a> the budget (£1700) is about right, but I'm flexible.

(I've put in bold the things I'm unsure about!)

Case FRACTAL DEFINE R4 BLACK PEARL QUIET MID-TOWER CASE - I think this is the best option for the most 3.5HDDs? I've had a look through all the others, and there doesn't seem to be any offering more than 8, which should be fine realistically. What's important is that I am genuinely able to expand the number of HDDs in future..

Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-3770K (3.5GHz) 8MB Cache - This seems to be the most powerful one? I guess i7 is the best for my needs?

Motherboard ASUS® SABERTOOTH Z77: USB 3.0, SATA 6.0GB/s, THERMAL ARMOR - no idea what this is like, but I like that it's called sabertooth! Does the fact that it has usb 3.0 mean that I don't need the extra pci card (below)?

Memory (RAM) 32GB KINGSTON HYPERX BEAST DUAL-DDR3 2400MHz X.M.P (4 x 8GB KIT) - I want to future proof myself as much as possible, so the more RAM the better, unless anyone can tell me a reason why I shouldn't?

Graphics Card 1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GT 610 - DVI, HDMI, VGA - 3D Vision Ready - I know nothing about graphics cards... all I need is an HDMI, vga and dvi port.. I use multiple monitors on an extended desktop.. I guess this can do that, right? I currently have an ATI Radeon 4800 that has behaved very well for the past 5 years..

Memory - 1st Hard Disk 240GB INTEL® 520 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW) - this will be for my OS, and programs, no files..

2nd Hard Disk 4TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD4001FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)

1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM

Power Supply CORSAIR 1050W PRO SERIES™ HX1050-80 PLUS® GOLD MODULAR (£159) - I know this is rather inefficient, but I want the option of being able to put up to 8 4TB wd caviar black HDDs in this machine.. (currently have 5 1TB WD Caviar blacks that need a new home, going to slowly copy their data and swap them over to 4TB drives)... does anyone know how big a PSU you might need to feed 8 4TB Caviar black drives? Happy to downgrade if I really don't need 1050...

Processor Cooling Super Quiet 22dBA Triple Copper Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler (£19)

Sound Card ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)

Network Facilities 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs

USB Options 2 PORT USB 3.0 INTERNAL PCI-EX CARD + STANDARD USB PORTS - do I need this if the motherboard already has USB 3.0?

Operating System Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence (£109)

Total: £1661 inc vat & delivery.

.. does that sound like a sensible sort of machine for my needs? You can click the link above to configure the quote, incase anyone has any better suggestions? Many thanks in advance!

March 7, 2013

Still digesting all of this - thank you so much, this is incredibly helpful..

Ellis, your suggestions seem to make the most logical sense for my particular system.. I do already keep the OS & app disk separate on all my machines (still got 400gb on that), on the new machine I intend to put as much RAM as possible.. I think I'll probably start a separate thread on this subject, as I'm doing a custom build and could use some feedback on componants..

So - the plan is, build a new computer with loads of RAM, some more drive bays to temporarily keep me going for another few years (I seem to get through a TB of data around every 9 months) - buy a separate 'temporary' backup system (A RAID 5, RAID 6 or Drobo 5N - need to investigate: Drobo 5, Synology, OWC, QNAP, and Western Digital Sentinel 4000) to archive all files that aren't hot (this is true - I have maybe 500gb of recent shoots I need to access instantly, the rest are archives from previous years and need to be incredibly well backed up and quick to search through, but don't need to be part of the main system)..

I like the idea of doing a weekly backup to a third system hosted elsewhere.. but with my amount of data, is that even possible? Is there some clever thing that can just do an auto-backup of new data or data changes... perhaps to a server system that I could theoretically access remotely.. it does seem a bit of a waste to have two identical backup systems if neither serves an additional purpose other than to foolproof me.. but maybe that's me being naive..

Just to clarify - I do have a wireless hub with gigabit ethernet ports.. are you suggesting that I hook the NAS up to that by wired ethernet, as well as my main editing computer - and if so, is that a quicker way of reading/writing data than if I were to use e-sata, firewire or usb 3 etc?

Again, thank you so much - this is incredibly helpful.

March 5, 2013

Thanks for all the input - very helpful. Went into calumet to play with the 1d-x and 5d3 (left the 6d as I agree, it's not really appropriate as an upgrade to 5d2)..

Impressions - both beautiful machines, AF is gorgeous on both.. obviously the layout on the 5D3 is very familiar for 5d2 users.. One extra thing that I particularly love (other than the better high ISO quality - portraits on 1600 looked gorgeous in the shop, when I hate going above 800 on the mk2) is the rate button on the 5d3.. might seem like a small thing, but I shoot maybe 700-1200 shots a session on a portrait/fashion shoot, so the ability to rate as you review on-camera is potentially going to save me quite a bit of time in the edit, as I'm guessing canon's digital photo professional software will read the rating and you can easily do an initial edit, (going to double check this).. I'm really excited about that! That's a big plus for me, personally.

I'd loved the quality of photos on the 1d-x and it is a beautiful machine, but for me as a small female (5'2") the 1d-x is substantially heavier than the 5D3, particularly with the 85 1.2 which is already a moderately heavy lens.. to use that for 6 hours a day, 5 days a week without a tripod is going to destroy my back.. that's a serious downside.. and from what I've gathered here and in store, the features are great if you're sports or wildlife, but for portraiture the 5D3 is almost equivalent for most usage.. I gather the weather proofing is marginally improved from the 5d2 but couldn't find any tests on this.. so, I've decided to get the 5d3 plus the 50mm 1.2L lens which I've wanted for a while, and enough cash left over to put towards a new workhorse computer! :) Hooray!

Hope this thread is of use for any other portrait photographers currently on the 5d2.. and much thanks for all the advice.

March 5, 2013

Would love to get a hasselblad - but current budget won't quite stretch to the £13700 it's on for.. ;) ..perhaps next year.. Not considered the 6D, but I'll certainly have a play with it... if it's reasonably comparable to the 5D3 I'd definitely choose 5D3 as it'll eat the same batteries as 5d2.. Noise isn't a massive issue.. but I do shoot outdoors in late afternoon semi-twilight sometimes.. normally only go up to a max of iso800 on the 5D2.. shooting around 2.8 on the 85mm 1.2.. apparently the weather sealing on the 5D3 is better than that of the 5D2 - can anyone verify that? I do sometimes shoot in the pouring rain, as I said - don't shoot in waterfalls, and never had any issues with 5D2 in the rain, so it's very important that an upgrade can withstand british weather conditions..

Sharp iq is really important - I shoot portraits, sometimes on a very shallow dof, and the number of slightly off focus shots with the 85mm 1.2 can be rather irritating.. if an upgrade reduces that substantially, it'd be worth it for me..

March 4, 2013

When you say 'stripping alone'.. do you mean, just sticking a bunch of drives in a workstation and working off them as they are, without any clever mirroring? Sorry.. a little clueless with this terminology..

Right now I'm not using anything for external storage - I have 5x 1TB HDs in my current computer (and a few more in a very temperamental old machine, and most of my edited finals are hosted on my web server.. but that's only a very small percentage).. I need to upgrade to a 64x system anyway, so that's happening - I shall ask you guys for spec advice shortly.. (hah)..

I'll leave the system disk in this computer, and just use this machine for admin - and start a clean install on the new machine.. which will also have lots of drive bays.. I'd thought about using higher capacity drives, for some reason I didn't think they were as stable as the 1TB drives, but perhaps that's old information? I do need to be able to access them pretty quickly - and as each shoot (at least from the past few years) is around 3-5GB, having them anywhere online or some sort of slower access storage wouldn't really work...

March 4, 2013

So... what about this solution:

1. Initially upgrade to a new PC with more bays for HDDs - which should last me another few years.. and I'll see what technology is available then.

2. Start backing up to external RAID based NAS/SAN system (not the kind that mirrors data) and keep it somewhere else.

That's probably the most sensible course of action, I guess?

March 4, 2013

Thanks Mark, really helpful response. I shoot for about 5 hours a day, without a tripod, camera on portrait.. so if the 1d-X is substantially heavier than the 5d-2 that might be an issue as I already have a bit of shoulder trouble

1. Don't shoot action, sports, or wildlife.. need fast and sharp focus, but I never shoot on burst.

2. Does anyone know if the 5D3 is more or less weather sealed than the 5D2? - I've shot in pouring rain before without an issue, but if it's less, that might be a problem.

3. Sounds good..

4. Something to withstand the occasional knock.. once dropped my 5D2 onto a wooden floor, but it survived fine.. just to that standard...?

5. ..ok, needs investigating..

6.. shall also investigate..

5d 3: £2,335.00

1d-x: £4,849.00

... for the extra £2.5K I could get a new computer & lens.. hmmm...

Thanks very much Mark.. I think I shall go annoy the guys in Calumet for a few hours. If anyone has any more input, it'd be much appreciated..

ps: Does anyone know if canon are planning to release any more interesting models this year?

March 4, 2013

Considering getting a mac as it's better for video editing, which I do a little as well.. and I'm told that the workflow is slicker than that of windows.. I'm very pro-PC, so if I can build a substantially faster machine at a lesser cost then I'll stick to it. Yes, I've considered getting a bigger case.. but again, it'll only solve the for a few more years.. I get through about 32GB a week.. Would be nice if I could find something expandable to make it that bit more future proof.. but if there is nothing, then that's what I shall do.

March 4, 2013

Oh.. and also - I'm upgrading computer soon anyway.. but may be adding a mac system.. so I need something that could be accessed from both PC and mac.. in my head, it's like an external box that I can just put all my hard drives in, and just keep adding more drives, and they'll all work happily there forever, and I can just connect E-sata cables (or something faster?) to both PC and MAC to use it as a giant storage box... but I don't think it's that easy?

March 4, 2013

No.. I wasn't that clever when I built the system (that's RAID - right?) They're just NTFS Hard Drives - All Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black drives.. Because there is SO much data, I'm open to building a RAID system if it's the most sensible solution, but I'm guessing it'd probably take about a week to copy 5+TB to a new system?

March 4, 2013

I need a bit of advice on external storage options - I currently have 5 1TB HDs in my PC, all dedicated to photos only, and all almost full up.. my current PC has run out of drive bays to fit more in.. Was thinking about building a new PC in a case that can house up to 8 HDs, but that's still only a temporary fix, as I have to archive so many photos that space goes pretty fast.

I need a system that will allow me to access all 6+ HDs instantly, and be fast enough to work off and save to. Preferably something very reliable and expandable that will last for a very long time. Any pointers?

March 4, 2013

Need a bit of advice in choosing between the 5Dmk3 and the 1D-X for an upgrade - I've been shooting on the 5dmk-2 for 3 years, mainly with 85mm 1.2 L lens.. I shoot outside, in sometimes dubious weather conditions, but I've never had any issues with the 5Dmk2.. Only looking to upgrade as I'd rather put any available capital back into my business than give it to the tax man.. I've read various reviews and my main points of interest are (obviously) higher quality images, and the faster AF system (particularly relevant as 85mm 1.2 is quite a loose focussing lens on the mk2).. and possible noise reduction? I know the 1-dx is supposed to be good on the AF front, but was wondering if any portrait photographers who might have used both 5dmk2, 5dmk3 and 1d-x could offer me some advice as to which might be better for my kind of work? Is the 1d-x worth the extra cash?

Many Thanks,

Faye

November 8, 2011

Also, after looking at the top shot for a while.. I'm wondering about the lighting in the finished shot? A larger

version of the main shot can be seen here: http://500px.com/photo/1435870 - do you think it's entirely

natural light or has she used a soft box for fill, as in the shot of the set up.. or maybe she's bouncing flash

off a large white reflector at the front? Hmm... thoughts?

November 8, 2011

cheers guys, very helpful.

November 8, 2011

I'm just about to go and stock up on some paper roll backgrounds, and came across this in some out-takes of a shoot.. it's got a lovely, almost metalic sort of shine to it.. and I want to hunt down something similar. I normally work with material or canvas backgrounds, so I don't really have a point of reference to compare it to.

Wondering if anyone can hazard a guess at the colour/material?

It looks black in the second shot but is reflecting gorgeous dark blue tones.. any ideas? Might it be a matt black vinyl sheet.. or is it some shade of charcoal paper? If so, what do you reckon is most likely shade out of the 100 or so options on calumet? <a href="http://www.calumetphoto.co.uk/eng/browse/categories/studio-lighting/backgrounds-support/paper-backgrounds">http://www.calumetphoto.co.uk/eng/browse/categories/studio-lighting/backgrounds-support/paper-backgrounds</a>

Thanks in advance!

September 25, 2011

Just wondering if anyone can recommend a good LONDON BASED accountant who specialises or has a lot of experience working with photographers? And likewise, if there are any recent additions to the photographers book keeping software list? I'm trying out blinkbid... but I really just want something simple to keep track of my expenses in.

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