j.r._valenzuela

<p>One thing that hasn't been brought up regarding the 5D Mark II or full frame DSLRs in general is depth of field. The difference between crop and full frame is quite striking with portraiture and many art applications, so depending on what specifically you are photographing, you would have much more flexibility.</p>

<p>Live View is a great enhancement, especially low light/critical focus. With the 5D Mark I, I often had to reshoot later or spend agonizing minutes squinting through the viewfinder or zooming in on the LCD after the shot to confirm focus. With long night exposures, that got mighty old.</p>

<p>Video has proven its worth with something as simple as recording information and context for a still shot. What were the sounds, what did it look like beyond the frame, can I say something in the video to remind me of something I might forget or don't want to write down?</p>

<p>Lens selection seems good, though I might consider the 35mm 2.0 for lower light on the wide end.</p>

<p>Whatever you choose, good luck and sorry you've had such frustration.</p>

<p>Hi John,<br>

Thanks for your response, I've got some samples of the Ilford on the way.<br>

The Harman is looking good too, just arrived today.<br>

I'll be tweaking with the printer dialog, but will start with your suggestion of going with printer control and no ABW.<br>

Cheers</p>

<p>Hello All,<br>

I'm looking for suggestions on an inkjet paper with as close a match as possible to the surface, weight, and tone of Agfa Portiga black and white glossy fiber paper. Surface is the most important consideration of the three.<br>

Black and white inkjet printing would be done on an Epson 11880 with the standard Epson ink set.<br>

So far, I'm looking at Museo Silver Rag, Epson Exhibition Fiber, and Harman Inkjet Gloss FB Al (regular or warmtone).<br>

Handcoating may be an option, but a roll option is preferable.<br>

Any ideas are much appreciated! Thank you.</p>

As others have stated, getting a card reader (or two - one for the home and one for the camera bag) is the easy non-software solution. In terms of software, I'm wondering if you have tried Image Capture, the built-in OSX utility for downloading images? Very basic, but has worked with every Canon I've worked with, including 5D with 1.1.1 firmware.

The only other thing I would suggest is double checking on your 5D that under Menu > Communication you have 'PC Connect' selected, rather than 'Print/PTP'. I'm sure you've checked this already, but I know I've forgotten to switch this a couple times and wondering why nothing is happening.

Looking at the photos on your site which are almost without exception shot with a flash, and knowing that you already have a crop sensor body, I would go with a 24-105 and a 50mm, either 1.8 or 1.4 as your budget allows. The zoom is perfect for when you are using the flash and will give you more reach than the 24-70, especially if mounted to your crop sensor body. The 50mm will give you plenty of latitude with available light shots in the club or on the street.

If you are hoping to try doing some available light shots with a zoom, and assuming that it would be with people, as are all of your photos, then get the 24-70.

Frustrating I'm sure! The CRV3's should have worked with no problems.

A question though: it isn't clear to me whether or not you have the Olympus AC adapter or not. If you do, I would try using it after you've safely removed any Compact Flash and/or SmartMedia cards. This should get to the heart of the matter, meaning that this would show whether or not the camera is functional regardless of dirty battery contacts, funky cards, etc.

If the camera can draw power from the AC adapter, then the LCD screen should show a message that there is no card in the camera.

If the LCD screen displays, then the next step would be to turn off the camera, insert the Compact Flash and/or SmartMedia card, turn on the camera again, and see if the screen on top of the camera works, try taking a picture, see if it will play back. If not, you may have a bad card, and I would see if you could borrow a Compact Flash card from someone and see if it works.

Assuming it isn't the card and the camera can draw power from the AC adapter, you may need to clean the electrical contacts in the battery compartment with q-tips and a little bit of rubbing alcohol.

If you still don't get anything, you may have a very rugged 5.1 megapixel paper weight...

Hope it works out!

Hello All,

I've been searching extensively, and have found that most strings regarding point light sources on

photo.net are concerned with enlarging. I'm looking for information and opinions on contact printing.

Background: the photographer I'm working with saw a point light souce setup at a pre-press house in Los

Angeles for contact printing work. It used a clear white bulb with visible filament, in what looked like an

old Kodak safelight can with a piece of cardboarrd masking the opening with about a 2"x2" square cutout

in the middle. The employees had no information on what kind of bulb (brand, wattage, availability, etc.)

was used - whoever had set it up or worked with it regularly had long since gone.

What we want to do is contact printing on Azo, grade II and grade III, with 4x5 and 8x10 negs. We'll hang

the light with cardboard mask about 32" high. Has anyone used a point light source as I've described for

Azo contact prints, and if so, what bulb(s) have you used?

Any feedback is greatly appreciated!

J.R. Valenzuela

I definitely second the use of Genuine Fractals for certain applications and enlargements with

images from the 5D. I've been seeing some wonderful prints coming from the 9600 around

40x50. Of course it isn't going to give you detail that isn't there in the first place, but it

makes what you've got hold up a whole lot better.

Also, can anyone offer any advice on ketchup quantity? Just how much is too much?

I've heard on this board and others that for maximum detail, DPP is the way to go. If I am

printing on a wide format inkjet (like 30x40), I'll use DPP for conversion and Genuine Fractals

for uprezzing if need be.

For maximum control and speed however, I have been extremely satisfied with Lightroom.

Expensive yes, but for day-to-day tasks and anything deadline sensitive it has not let me

down.

As was asked earlier, has the battery been ruled out as the culprit?

I've had a couple of the Canon OEM batteries fail with my 5D, in much the same way you describe, but aftermarket Chinese made versions have never let me down.

I'm also looking to get the 5D battery grip which allows the option of going with AA batteries if (when) all else fails (something I've missed from my old Olympus E-20).

I love working with the 5D and 24-105L - the lens is superb, very good for walk around

shooting and I personally don't find the combination that cumbersome or heavy. The 3-

stop IS isn't hyperbole, but if you want to shoot street photos with people or movement at

night, you'll want something faster. Maybe the 24-70L or some of the primes others have

mentioned. I also have the 50 f1.8 - it is simply too cheap and handy not to have in your

bag.

All that having been said, I would probably go with the Rebel body, simply because it

seems that the only times I have had equipment stolen or broken is when I travel. For me,

I'd be a lot more heartbroken with someone running off with my 5D than a 400D...