bjscharp

Stacking on a lens that long won't be a problem. Especially not on a cropped sensor.

Another option: B+W make 6 and 10 stop ND filters as well, if you want to prevent loss of IQ due to extra glass surfaces.

Michael Axel has a valid point though, getting focus with that much ND will be hard.

Using a photo tent might be a better solution in the end. It will also help prevent squinting :-)

Indeed, Elan 7, 7e, 7n or 7ne, known as (respectively) the EOS 33, 30 33v and 30v in Europe, are extremely quiet (there's even a custom setting controlling the speed/noise of the rewind).

It's also an extremely nice camera to work with.

Yes, you lose flexibility when you use a prime instead of a zoom. You also lose (for the same aperture) a lot of weight, and often a lot of cost.

As pointed out, the 200mm f2.8 is about half the cost and weight of the 70-200mm f2.8 (not to mention the IS version). The 200mm f2.0 is a lot more expensive, and probably as heavy, but lets in twice as much light.

Personally, I use the 135mm f2.0 for sports, (on my crop body, that gives the same field of view as the 200mm on a FF body), and I have never missed the zoom option. Imagine the shot first, and make sure you're in the right spot to take it.

The advantage to the 300mm + TC is that you have both a 300mm and a 420mm lens, the advantage to the 400mm is that it has slightly better image quality than the 300mm + TC combo.

Which one would be better depends on whether you need a 300mm lens, a 400mm lens, or both.

<p>Remember that regardless of sensor size, the nodal point for the lens will be in the same spot. It might be that the rail can't be moved forward enough to get the nodal point over the rotation axis.</p>

<p>Personally, I have the <a href="http://reallyrightstuff.com/rrs/Itemdesc.asp?ic=192%2DPPP&eq=&Tp=">MPR-192 package</a>, where both rail and clamp are adjustable independently, forgoing the problem of wide-angle lenses alltogether. (and the clamps can be rotated for telephoto use)</p>

Blinking can also mean you're at the limit of either shutter speed or aperture. For example, the lens is already wide open, and you tell the camera to overexpose (+x EC) while in Tv mode

Best way to do large bracketing is to put the camera in Manual mode.

<p>Songtsen, the 400D does have changeable screens, Canon just doesn't sell any optional screens, but you can get them from <a href="http://www.katzeyeoptics.com/item--Canon-400D-Focusing-Screen--prod_400D.html">here</a> or <a href="http://www.focusingscreen.com/index.php?cPath=21_45">here</a> or search Google for more options.</p>

<p>Works great.</p>

All gear that sees regular use for digital is in my ThinkTank Airport Antidote. Usually, the zipper is open, with the body primed in it. Can grab the camera and shoot in less than 10 seconds.

Then I have a small secondary bag with everything I need to chance that set into a film set (other body, different lens hoods, alternate adapters for angle finder, etc).

Then I have a bag with specific lighting equipment (manual flashes, reflectors, cables, wein-slaves).

Then I have a big drawer with all the stuff I don't use (pouches, old filters, unused lenses, etc).

Then I have my tripod lying around somewhere in the vincinity of the first bag.

Finally, a shelf in my fridge holds a lot of film.

For actual use (I seldom carry everything I own), I transfer the stuff I need from the ThinkTank to the bag of the day (depends on the amount of stuff), add from the other bags (and fridge) as needed, and take that.

Also ask yourself if you want to match your gels completely to the ambient. With tungsten, it's sometimes nice to gel a half-CTO, and WB for that, giving your subject natural colours, while leaving the background slightly reddish, to give that `inside-cosy' look.

Don't forget to bring some blue for those shady/cloudy outdoor fill-flash shots...

Just to throw fuel on the fire:

What about the 24mm f1.4L or the 35mm f1.4L?

Ed, you might look into getting a manual focussing screen for your camera. (One with a split-prism), that'll greatly help you with manual focussing, and doesn't affect AF.

I believe Canon makes several screens for the 5D2, otherwise, some options are KatzEye (http://www.katzeyeoptics.com/), which makes custom screens from scratch and are extremely good (I've heard), or Focusscreen.com (http://www.focusingscreen.com/index.php), which recuts existing screens to fit other cameras (and sells the standard screens if the manufacturer makes them).

For your demands, I'm wondering why you're even looking at the (even 2nd hand) expensive 1-series.

Why not try an EOS 3 or an Elan 7? An Elan 7 can be had for less than $50 second-hand, and is actually a newer camera than the EOS 1V (let alone the 1 or 1N).

For high pixel-count studio work, get a 5DmkII with a tethered shooting solution. Prime features of a 1D camera are ruggedness, weather-sealing and dual card slots. None of those are necessary in a studio IMHO.

And you can get two 5DmkII's for the price of one 1DsmkIII...

I have the L, and it's a pleasure to use. If you'll always use it stopped down though, it's quite expensive.

I have it for the 2.0 aperture and the lightning-fast focussing, as I use it mainly for sports.

I never used the 2.8SF, so I can't compare, but knowing that the 135 SF is from the set of primes first released with the (then) new EOS system, I have little doubt that it is a good lens. There are pretty much no bad lenses in that first line-up (Canon couldn't afford to, the entire new system depended on them).

Just my 2 cents..

I just bought a just-CLA'd M3 and a collapsible 50mm Summicron for less than 800 dollars... If I'd settled for an M2 or another lens, I might well have spent even less.

Especially the older lenses are quite affordable on the well-know auction site, and if you go non-Leica, you're in for a steal...

<p>@George Widman, the foot is still designed to break off before the hotshoe is damaged, only the break-away part is located inside the foot. The whole foot is then easily replacable. See also <a href="http://www.planetneil.com/tangents/2008/08/30/broken-canon-580ex-ii-hotshoe-foot/">here</a> (read the comments).</p><p>The advantage of the metal foot is less wear and tear, so it doesn't become `wobbly' after a time, and hitting the bare foot against a table will also less likely result in damage (to the flash).

I have both the 580 and the 580II, and much prefer the handling of the newer foot (both the smoother `slide' into the hotshoe, as the lever-fastener).</p>

Yes, both 580EX models work with all focus points on all EOS cameras ever made.

The 430EX doesn't, it will cover up to 9 points, if I'm not mistaken (so everything except the EOS 1V, EOS 3 and the 1D series)

As a side note: I seldom use the things anyway. Simply thinking of where you're bouncing gives much better, and more controlled results in most cases. I mostly use it when I'm bouncing in a direction where the reflector card is useless and I want a bit of on-axis light on my subject (for a catchlight, for example), or if I'm doing inside group-shots (spread frontal light with bounced ceiling light), in which case the coloured ones are nice. (orange for tungsten, blue for indirect window light on overcast days).

For the rest, flash gels are more important than expensive tupperware, imho...