thomasmckown

Looking at the last link, it does seem that many shots are overexposed a bit. I see no obvious signs of major post processing or anything like that. Most likely, the shots were overexposed a bit to get the details of the faces of the people. Some great photos in there though.

Haha, thought of something else... When your sensor is hot from much use, it tends to produce more noise. Most of my first shots of the night seem to always be cleaner than the last. Colder nights are nice too. Batteries dont do very well, but the sensor likes the coolness. Another thing, higher MP counts can make for more noise due to smaller, less effective pixels. My 10mp XTi does not produce as clean of an image as my friends 8mp 20D does. And the 5D is wonderful due to its massive sensor.

What type of shots are you talking about? I know that when doing star trails for example, it is better to layer several exposures rather than just take one. Basically, if you want a one hour star trail, just take three 20 minute exposures and layer them in PhotoShop. This greatly reduces noise and seems to be among the best methods for reducing noise in this type of shot. Adobe RAW has fairly decent noise reduction, I use it quite often. Noise Ninja is also a decent PS plug-in. Also, Im not sure what camera you are using, but Canon sensors seem to do better than Nikon when it comes to low noise. Hope I could help, your question was a bit vague.

I actually use a 400D and Canon 100mm macro. I bought the Kenko extension tubes when I got the lens. I like the extensions tubes pretty well, although I have not actually tried using the tubes with a ring light yet. I really like how close you can get, especially with all three tubes in the kit, the detail is amazing. I wish I could be of more help other than telling you they work great, at least without a flash. I can tell you though, that it is really cool to be able to get so close.

Yes, the 17-40 would basically replace your kit lens. The thing to remember is that the lens does not necessarily make the picture look that much better. Most of what you see in a great photo is a lot of experience and knowledge of how to get the desired results. A skilled photographer can use either lens and get similar results. Usually though, by the time somebody gets to that point, they are very critical of sharpness and many other factors which is why they go for the more expensive glass. To be honest, I think you would benefit much more from something that you need that the kit lens does not offer, such as a different focal range or wider aperture. Try to think of what you wish you could do with your kit lens that you just cant do with it, whether it be zooming in or out more, or shooting in situations with less light, or getting less depth of field to blur out backgrounds. When you know what you want to accomplish, then shop for the lens that will produce the results you are looking for.

 

<P>That said, if you just want to upgrade from your kits lens to a 17-40 f4L, it is a great lens that you would be happy with. One thing I will point out is that it is wider on full-frame cameras (5D, 1Ds...) than cropped sensor cameras like yours. To get the equivalent field of view as full frame, you should look into the EF-S 10-22. I own it and love it. Its about the same price as the 17-40 as well.

 

<P>The 17-55 is basically just like what you already have only slightly wider and has a much faster aperture. The real benefit here is shooting in low light. Its basically what this lens was designed to do. It seems to get great reviews, so I would not worry about quality issues with this lens. I think you would be happy with either lens, but I also think that if you fine tune your skills, the kit lens will make you quite happy as well.

While I dont consider my primes to more convenient necessarily, I do prefer the sharpness and wider apertures. Zooms are handy, but I really love my primes. The only zoom I would never trade, is an ultra wide angle zoom for landscapes, and even that is practically used as a prime at the widest focal length. :)

In that case, yeah, the 17-55 and d300 would probably suit you well.

Well, you will definitely notice more difference when you upgrade lenses than bodies. If you wish to shoot macro, I highly recommend the Canon 100mm f2.8 macro. It actually doubles as a great portrait lens, although you do have to stand back a little further than I prefer to. I have heard great things about the 17-55mm 2.8, and that focal range would be about perfect for me. I have actually been looking into this lens. I own the 10-22mm, and I can tell you it is my favorite lens in my bag. Wonderful for wide, full landscapes, and even cool for exaggerated looking portraits on occasion as well. If it were me, Id go for the lenses and wait for the 40D to drop in price a bit. If size is a big issue, you might try a used 20D. Those were great cameras and actually produce better high ISO image quality than my XTi does. I am actually considering trading my XTi for one if I can find a willing seller. ;)

I would suggest 2 flash units, umbrellas and stands, and any other accessories such as wireless triggers that would go with that. You can get away with spending $600-$700usd on this stuff if you check out mpex.com and look at the strobist kits. This will have a very dramatic effect on the quality of light in your photos. Then buy some decent glass. Then if you have anything left, a body. Just my suggestion though. I have seen some very professional work come from average cameras with decent lenses and good lighting.

I use it and love it.<div></div>

...I forgot to mention, you might also experiment with scaling using the bicubic smoother option in PS. And as Patrick said, it is always best to shoot RAW. You get more data to work with than JPEG.

Have you ever heard of Genuine Fractals? There is actually software to help do this.

 

<P> http://www.imaging-resource.com/SOFT/GF/GF.HTM

 

<P> While I havent personally used this software, some people I know claim good results. Good luck! BTW, great picture.

I bought a refurbished Canon 10-22mm from Adorama.com. When I received it, it would not let me change the aperture settings and gave me an error message about every 3rd click forcing me to shut off the camera and restart. They gladly refunded my money and I bought the same lens brand new and have had no problems with that one. Im sure most refurbs are fine, but you run the extra risk of it malfunctioning. If you do buy a refurb, buy from a reputable site like Adorama or B&H Photo. If you are unsure about the site, check resellerratings.com. There are a few shady shops out there that will not be so pleasant to deal with if the lens does not work properly.

Im sorry, I didnt even check to clarify if you were actually taking pictures of the moon, I just assumed you were going to shoot some landscapes by moonlight. Silly me, Im just in my own world over here.

At ISO 100, you should actually be able to get quite acceptable results even with a Rebel. What exactly are you planning on doing, star trails or star pictures? One technique you may consider, is to first make sure the noise reduction feature is off, and then splitting up your exposure into several shots and layering them. For example, if you want to do a 2 hour star trail picture, take six 20 minute exposures and layer them. The layering greatly reduces noise because the noise will be in slightly different places each time. Each layer will make for a cleaner image. I have actually taken some very acceptable single exposures at 1 hour with my Rebel XTi.<div></div>

Glad you are ok now. I think I prefer taking my chances with the bears and mountain lions in the hills. Its pretty sad that nobody did anything to help.

One thing to remember is to use fast glass or at least shoot about a stop or so from wide open to let in as much light as possible. One of your biggest enemies at night is noise due to either high ISO or long exposures or a combination of the two. Try playing around with your settings and experimenting a little, after all, that is one of the many benefits to digital. Also, dont be afraid to play with long exposures, you really get some neat effects with clouds this way. Have fun, night photography can make for some very fun times!

What is your budget?

Get a 20D. ;) Best current bang for the buck.

I am not a 5D owner, but I have seen the difference in quality and I personally think it would be worth the upgrade. In fact, I plan to upgrade as soon as I can possibly afford to. If the only reason for upgrading is for the wide FOV that the full frame sensor provides, you might also consider checking out the EF-S 10-22mm. While it is limited to cropped sensors, the quality of this lens is actually quite good.

<P>No matter what people are claiming, nobody actually knows when the new 5D will be released, but there is sure to be one in the future. Its arrival has been falsely predicted several times now, but it is only a matter of time. If you arent desperate, wait until it does so you can either have the latest 5D or possibly a cheaper current 5D. Again, not sure how long this will be though.

The s100fs does look to be a decent camera for an "SLR-like" camera. I have to say though that if image quality (especially in low light situations) is your main concern, definitely go with an SLR. One thing to remember is the sensor size - bigger is better. The s100fs' sensor is only 8.80mm by 6.60mm in size while a typical SLR sensor is 22.2mm by 14.8mm in size. These large sensors produce a much cleaner image and are much more effective in poorly lit scenarios. Canon (with their CMOS sensors) is known for their high ISO shooting ability and is a great way to go. Another thing to remember is that with increased MP count, pixel effectiveness and sensitivity goes down. I have noticed that my 10mp XTi actually does worse in low light than my friends 8mp 20D. Both of these cameras are going for around $500usd on the used market and the 20D seems to be the better performer, all be it with a few less features. I personally would not buy the 12mp XSi as you can buy a camera that (in theory) performs likely as good or better for less money.

<P>Trade off:

<P>SLR-like Digicam pros: It does more with a single lens than most SLR lenses do. It is more compact.

<P>Cons: Image quality isnt that great, especially in low light. Little or no lens options so no room to grow or improve.

<P>SLR Pros: Great image quality, especially in low light or at high ISO. Canon has over 50 EF and EF-S lenses to choose from. Image quality. Holds value longer. Image quality. And the biggest thing for me, image quality.

<P>Cons. They are expensive, especially when considering lenses. They are also bulky, some more than others. The XTi is very small and light next to the 20D, but both are big and heavy next to most digicams.

<P> Hope this could be of some help. I moved from my SLR-like SOny DSC-H1 a few years ago to a Canon XTi and have never looked back. In fact, I gave my Sony to a friend who couldnt afford a camera and I dont miss it a bit.

Im not sure if this voids any warranty or not. I do know that I have been using cheap ebay batteries for a few years now and they have done my camera no harm.

Personally I would be happy to exclusively carry the 16-35 on a trip, but it would almost certainly be used exclusively for landscapes. If you plan on taking pictures of interesting people as well as buildings and landscapes, I think the 24-70 would be a great way to go as it is a versatile lens. Hope you have fun on your trip!

Digital cameras record data onto what is essentially a flash drive. They typically use one of two types of memory cards: CF (Compact Flash) or SD (Secure Digital). These can be plugged into what is called a card reader which is an adapter with a plug for the card on one side and a usb plug on the other. The reason they use cards is for convenience. The CF card is small enough to slide right into the camera and yet has much storage capacity. For cameras that require a smaller card (such as many compact point and shoot cameras), a smaller SD card is used. If they were to try and use a typical usb flash drive (of which there are many different sizes and shapes), there would be a big annoying drive sticking out the side of your camera. They decided to instead go with a standardized card of two types.

Buy from BHPhoto.com or Adorama.com. Its worth the extra money to actually get what you asked for. Plus, these sites have some of the best deals (real ones) online that I know of. Aside from good prices, they also have the best customer service. I feel like royalty when I deal with either of these two places.