michael_morris3

<p>In the Page area I never miss the Wahweep Hoodoos. It is a hike but through a large dry (usually) riverbed. The hoodoos are very interesting, early morning is the best time for them because they are on the west side of the river with clifs to the west of the hoodoos. There are 3 groups.<br>

Another place I visit frequently is Alstrom Point. It requires a high-clearance vehicle (4WD is nice) and is usually quite windy. But you can get some spectacular views of Lake Powell. Early morning or late afternoon is best.</p>

<p>Adam,<br>

I have a 135 Apo Sironar S and as you found, it does not have the coverage of say, the 115mm gradagon or the 210 Apo sironar S but I have used it with significant movements but it requires stopping down much more than I normally do. The 135mm has a coverage of 208mm when stopped down to f/22. The 115 grandagon is a bit slower at f/6.8 but has an image circle of 291mm at f/22. You may want to find one of these 115mm beasts.</p>

I am fairly new to shooting film. It seems I went the opposite direction from many today and began with digital and then moved to film. I

have been shooting 4X5 about 3 months now and have been shooting TMax and Provia. All I have heard about color film is that to get the

wonderful rich saturated colors, shoot color reversal film. I scan the film so negative or posative is not an issue for me. Today I was

talking with a photographer that told me the new generation of negative color film is as saturated as Provia and that would be abetter

choice. Being new to film I am unsure whether to try this or not. I could do some limited testing myself and probably will but wanted to

hear other opinions on this.

While you may not see a difference in 8 V 16 bit the differences will become obvious as soon as you make any adjustments, especially

exposure or brightness. I only use 8 bit images for printing. All originals are stored in the highest precision possible.

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Michael Morris

After 2 dawn shoots in the desert, I am in love with the camera and lenses.

The noise is 2 - 3 stops better than the Sony. The autofocus is amazing. The sharpness is

impressive. I have some very good lenses for the Sony as well but the 5d is significantly

sharper. Color saturation and contrast appear to be very close.

The operation of the 5d is comfortable and it only took a few hours to settle into the

differences. This is one amazing camera, IMO well worth the cost.

Manh,

I ended up with a kit that had the EF 24-105L f/4 IS USM lens included. I am very impressed

with this lens. I also picked up the EF 70-200L f/2.8 IS USM lens as long as I was there.

Have not had the opportunity to shoot with that one yet. Will be in the dsert @ sunrise

tomorrow though.

Thanks everyone for the comments. It is greatly appreciated.

I went to look at a 5D today and it ended up adopting me.

Dan,

No offense was taken. when I see a problem, I always try to determine if it is technique or

equipment first. Usually it is the technique and that has improved greatly because of the

attitude of "okay, what am I doing to cause this".

Yes, the Alpha is a good camera. It has a couple of issues that are frustrating but I have

been pleased with it overall. I tend to use manual setup mostly to be able to control the

exposure and I am pleased with that. My skills in exposure management have grown a lot

since switching to manual mode. I have set the camera on a tripod and tried the same

shot in different ISO levels and found that the noise is high anywhere over ISO 100.

The issue with autofocus is not a focus issue. It is the camer's ability to lock AF correctly.

When allowing it to select the point, it jumps around even when there is a good strong

subject. It also has a lot of trouble locking on subjects with lower contrast. The

photographer sometimes has focus/shake issues, but that can only be solved with more

experience.

A friend who has been a professional photographer for several years was working with my

camera recently. I said nothing to him until he started asking about the strange AF

behavior. That told me is is probably not the user, but the limitations of the equipment.

Aubrey,

That photo is at about the same noise level I see at ISO 400. That is simply amazing.

Steve,

I do mostly nature photography. Landscapes, macro, and wildlife. The wildlife is the

biggest problem because of the noise at greater than ISO 100. Also, the AF is very slow to

lock in. I was sitting in the middle of a prarie dog colony shooting the animals at about

8:30AM a few days ago. I had the AF set to focus on the center and it was occasionally

unable to lock onto the animal. Fortunately he was hungry and ignored me for about 20

minutes. But in good light, 7 - 10m it should not have trouble locking focus.

We also missed several shots of deer earlier becuse with my f/4 lens and ISO 100 the

shutter speed was way too low to hand hold a 200mm or 300mm lens. (around 1/8 sec).

I also find myself needing a different lens so I was thinking 2 camera would be useful.

A whilel back I received my first DSLR camera as a gift. It is a Sony Alpha. It is a good entry level camera

but has some issues. The noise levels are very high at any ISO above 100. Also the autofocus is, well,

inconsistent. I have been using it on a daily basis and now have found the limitations of the camera in

many cases. Mostly low-light and focus critical.

I am ready to step up a level and am seriously considering a Conon EOS-5D. The reasons are, noise,

autofocus, ready availability of lenses and accessories.

The questions I have are:

What is the noise like at higher ISO, 800, 1600?

How is the autofocus operation?

Any other comments will also be appreciated.