nicolasraddatz

<p>I'd tend to agree with the less-is-more approach. I don't understand why you'd need both the 14-54 and the 14-150. Their focal lengths are overlapped, I'd pick one of them (the one you enjoy shooting the most) and so be it.<br>

The more gear, the more you'll be worrying about not losing something, not being robbed, etc, etc, so for me it's a no brainer: less is more. 1 body (2 tops, for backup or having a different lens on), 2 lenses, a small flash, cf cards, notebook and cleaning kit would be my list. f I was pressed hard, I would even leave the backup body at home. 2 lenses may sound like too little, but that forces you on concentrating in the focal lengths or lens characteristics you feel most comfortable with, which in the end will give you a tighter set of pictures. I think that carrying around every focal length just in case is a bad approach. You'll waste time trying to capture every single bit of china, instead of a subset that really touches you.<br>

In my experience, unless you have lots of time and very good transportation, i'd avoid a tripod like the plague. I'm not a landscape shooter, and ymmv, but travel photography doesn't lend itself very well for tripods. They are heavy, cumbersome, and a barrier between you and the "real world"/local people. I'd rather spend the energy (both mental and physical) of carrying a tripod walking around, and getting a deeper sense of the place i am. I have a gorillapod, I think I've only used it once. <br>

As for bags, I love lowepro or kata bags in terms of absolute quality and usability, but they look too "techie" and scream "steal me!!!". I'd rather have a unconspicuous bag such as domke's, or thinktank or crumpler.<br>

I know i'm answering things you didn't ask in the first place, but I thought i'd give you some general advice, your trip sounds like da bomb, I hope you have a great time!<br>

Best of lucks!</p>

<p>Bill, you can think whatever you want...all I know is that I have 2 (yes, two) Canon cameras fail on me in the same fashion after being exposed to laser beams...I know I won't be exposing my cameras to similar situations any more...</p>

<p>Not Urban legend at all. I had a both a Canon S2IS and a Canon HV20 that got some pixels burned at a disco with laser beams. And I'm not talking about a gigantic disco with out-of-this-world laser beams. I'm talking about a rather small venue. Both cameras were hit by lasers while taking pictures/filming, and both got some nasty pixels burned, they looked like traces or like having a "hair" in the sensor (it obviously wasn't).</p>

<p>thx michael-just what i thought...</p>

<p>Hi all,<br>

I was discussing previously about my latest experiences with my 7D under heavy rain. I've convinced myself that I need a rain cover, Kata E-702 seems to be one of the most popular at a reasonable price. One thing that I haven't been able to find out is if I can use an external flash unit with it. Unfortunately I have no local stores that carry this kind of gear, so I have to rely on the net to get an idea of how it works.<br>

Any ideas?<br>

Thanks!</p>

<p>@ Daniel: No, I didn't change lenses. I had the lens wrapped with a plastic bag and with tape around the body-lens connection.<br>

@Greg: Nice pictures! Are the Optech rain sleeves reusable, or are they the use-it-once-and-forget-about-it types?<br>

Thanks!</p>

<p>Thanks to all for your kind replies. It seems I overestimated the habilities of the camera to hold on tough weather. I'm glad I found out now, and not after the camera stopped shooting at all. Unfortunately a 1D is way over my budget at the moment, so it seems like I'll need a decent rain cover. Most of them look either clumsy or impractical for what I've seen. Any recommendations?</p>

<p>Hi all and thanks for the replies. Nathan, please take a look at the following link <a href="http://canonfieldreviews.com/7d-1-weather-sealing/">http://canonfieldreviews.com/7d-1-weather-sealing/</a>. I'd think shooting in antarctica under snowstorms is definitely worse than rain, and the camera seemed to hold up pretty well. Heck, my own experiences prior to this hiccup were good enough to give me some confidence shooting in bad weather. It's not like I can choose not to shoot. I NEED to, otherwise I'm failing to deliver the pictures. Puppy Face, unfortunately, an umbrella is not an option, as I'm shooting on top of a moving truck shooting horse endurance races.<br>

When I bought the 7D, one of the main features of it that I was attracted to was the supposedly superior weather sealing (even better than 5D as far as I know), so I find it a bit puzzling that I'm not supposed to use it under heavy rain? I mean, it's one of canons flagship cameras and due to its high fps, probably the best for shooting sports...its only natural that sooner or later you'll need to get it wet at some point, don't you think?</p>

<p>Hi all, I'd like to share something that happened to me yesterday. I was shooting under very heavy rain, it was quite cold, probably a few degrees above 0º Celsius.<br>

After maybe an hour or two I went inside a car with the camera (i mention this because it may have something to do with what happened later), it was slightly warmer than outside as there were 3 more people inside the car, and a bit humid because of this. Calefactioning/Air conditioning was off. I took some water off the camera with a cloth, and after maybe half an hour I went outside again.<br>

After a couple of minutes, all camera controls stopped working. Only the mode change wheel and the shutter trigger responded properly. As far as I could see, there was no visible condensation on the lens or camera screens. The camera could take photos (the shutter triggered), but it was not possible to change any parameter, and under AV mode the lightmeter didn't seem to respond properly.<br>

I stopped shooting, put the camera back on the bag and as soon as I got home (maybe some 5 hours after the incident) i proceeded to gently dry it with a hair drier. Everything seems to be in proper working order now, but I'm still a bit afraid of taking it out under tough weather again, and I'm pretty sure I'll need to because of work assignments.<br>

I'm wondering what could have caused this. My bet is that taking the camera inside the car was a bad idea (i've shot under rain a couple of time before without any issues).<br>

Have you had similar experiences? What are your tips / advice regarding shooting with a high end EOS body in the outside? I should also mention that i've been using 580EX II flash all along under rain with great success.<br>

Best regards!</p>

<p>Thanks guys, appreciate your thoughts</p>

<p>Hi Alex, thanks for replying. Could you compare them in terms of<br>

-Out of focus rendition<br /> -Sharpness<br /> -Contrast<br /> -Saturation<br /> -Whether it's best suited for B/W or color photography.<br /> -Handling<br /> -What you personally like or dislike.<br>

Do you think they have different "character"?<br>

(BTW, The comparable offerings from voigtlander would be 35mm f/1.4, 35mm f/2.5, right?)<br>

Thanks!</p>

<p>Hi all, I've been recently offered a tabbed Canada 35mm summicron f2 with original hood and lens cap at a very good price (300 box). I have just seen the lens on some pictures, but hopefully I'll have a ride to the sellers house soon (he's like 150km away from home). I know it has some scratches on the lens body, but let's suppose for a while that the optics and general mechanics are in good shape.</p>

<p>How would you compare this lens to the current comparable offerings from voigtlander (under 500-600 usd)? I'm interested in each lens characteristics such as out of focus rendition, handling, contrast, saturation. Whether it's suited for B/W or color photography. What you personally like or dislike. I'm not so much interested in knowing which lens is best, as this is personal and debatable, but rather what you like or dislike of each.</p>

<p>If you had to choose one, which would you buy? Why? Thanks!</p>

<p>Hi all!! !<br>

Less than a month ago, and with some great advice from people here on photo.net and rangefinder forum, I bought a Bessa R3A from B&H. The camera is lovely, but as many people has already experienced, it came with an off rangefinder patch (infinity focus and vertical position out of alignment). I'm so frustrated with having a brand new camera with the rf patch off. And it was bought i n the US (B&H) but I live in south america, so it's a royal pain sending it back to get it fixed.<br>

So, I investigated on this, and came accross Arran Salerno's instructions for rangefinder adjustment <a href="http://www.arransalerno.com/blog/2008/08/01/bessa-rangefinder-calibration/">http://www.arransalerno.com/blog/2008/08/01/bessa-rangefinder-calibration/</a>. They are definitely the best out there.<br>

I managed to get the cover off. I wouldn't have imagined the adjustment screws were so deep inside the body, though. The thin g is, I wasn't able to fix the infinity focus (it's quite off), as the screw was so tight, and I'm worr ied about breaking something inside as i've read on many places that the whole mechanism should be handled delicately.<br>

I have a couple of questions. Do you know which movement (clockwise, counterclockwise) moves the patch to the left or right? How much is it necessary to move the screw to actually see a difference? (1/4 of a turn, 1/8 of a turn, etc). What size screwdriver should i use to move the infinity focus screw? How "delicate" do I have to be? I mean, i haven't been able to move the patch so either I'm being too delicate, or the screw is too tight or something like that. Any input will be highly appreciated.-<br>

Thanks.</p>

<p>Ok, the seller is a couple of hundred kilometers away from home. It seems like i'll have to pay him a visit...I just hope that its worth it :)<br>

Thanks to all</p>

<p>Thanks for your input guys. As usual, very valuable!</p>

<p>Third version summicron 35mm f:2, Leitz Canada. According to the seller, everything's in proper working condition, n o fungus. I can see some dents in the lens body, they are pretty evident. The seller wants $350. Is this a "goo d" price or a "normal" price for a lens in this state?<br>

<a href="http://img4.imageshack.us/i/leica2.gif/">http://img4.imageshack.us/i/leica2.gif/</a><br>

<a href="http://img156.imageshack.us/i/leica.gif/">http://img156.imageshack.us/i/leica.gif/</a><br>

Sorry for not embedding the images, but the message editor deletes it!</p>

 

OK, here's the info. The lens serial number is 2869410. It has meters marking with lowercase "m" instead of "M", the red arrow seems to be small. But it has aperture numbers in "5,6" form instead of "5.6". A dog??? What's your take?<br /><br />The leica serial number is 486238.

<p>Yeah, I know, but it would be reassuring to know that I have *something* to act as a guide of what I'm actually framing with a lens for which there's no frameline... :)<br>

I'd love to hear if anyone has actually used that combo</p>

I have a Bessa R3A with a 50mm Nokton. I know the R3A is fine tuned to go with a 40mm lens, but I've been recently offered a 3rd version 35mm summicron f2 at a steal. <br /><br />I wonder if it's possible to reasonably use the R3A with a 35mm lens without some sort of accesory viewfinder. Maybe the whole viewfinder window (outside 40mm framelines) is close to 35mm field of view?<br /><br />I'd love to hear your thoughts.<br /><br />Thanks

<p>Thanks to all guys for your suggestions. I ended up buying a Bessa R3A. Probably not as sexy as anything that says Leitz on it, buy at least I'm sure I'm buying equipment that works properly - And being that this is my first serious rangefinder, that allows for some peace of mind.</p>

<p>Thanks to all for your replies!!!</p>

<p>BTW: I didn't even know what this lens could cost. I now realise that a "real" Carl Zeiss 50mm 1.5 might cost several hundred dollars. This makes me think that the one I saw is probably a copy.<br>

Supposing it was a copy...how much would it be advisable to pay for it?</p>

<p>I found an old leica III with a Carl Zeiss Jena 50mm 1.5 lens on a local flea market. The seller seems to be an antiques collector, so he probably doesn't really know what he has. He probably thinks that because the camera has "Leica" in it his stuff is worth money. I'm pretty sure he's had it for weeks without actually selling it. Not much people care for old cameras where I live.<br>

He wants $160 for the combo.<br>

The camera seems to be stuck or something, but I'm not really interested in it. I fancy having a fast Sonnar lens for portraits though. As far as I could see, it was in an "OK" state (given its age), the lettering where it says carl zeiss jena is falling apart, what do you think would be a reasonable price to pay for it? I offered him $40 (the coating of the lens seems a bit old, and it seems like there's fungus in there, and it could well be some of the russian lenses disguised as zeiss) but he acted like if the offer had been an offense or something.<br>

Anyway, what do you think I should look for next time? How much would it be a reasonable price to pay for a lens like this that clearly shows its age?<br>

Thanks!</p>

<p>Hi guys!<br>

I'm in the final stages of buying a Leica CL kit. I've decided on this instead of other options (bessa R3, Leica M4) mostly due to the fact that for the same amount of cash i can get the body for those, i can find a complete Leica CL kit with lenses, and I want as small a kit as possible, for travel photography.<br>

My rationale is that if in the I need to grow, the lenses will work the same, so it doesn't seem like a bad idea.<br>

My main options at this point are:<br>

Leitz Minolta CL w/ 40mm and 90mm rokkors. Less than 10 rolls through it. Stored for almost 30 years on a wardrobe in Boulder, Colorado (dry climate?). The seller claims that "Everything seems to work perfectly, but I have not run film through it. No visible haze or fungus. The meter is working but I have not tested it for accuracy."<br>

Leica CL w/40mm summicron. Exc+. The seller claims that "This camera has been tested and all functions work great. The view is clean and bright, the viewing frames are crisp. Focus is smooth and accurate as is the meter. "<br>

Both kits are nearly the same price. So, basically, wtb, a possibly "virgin" CL with 2 lenses, but without 100% confirmation of its working state, or a slightly used CL with just one lens?<br>

I'm buying through internet, so I can't test them, by the way.<br>

Thanks for your help!</p>

<p>Gentlemen,<br>

Thanks for sharing your knowledge with me. As for the "3 cam" lens, yes, it's for reflex cameras, i think the seller published it on the wrong section "35mm rangefinders"...<br>

So, it seems that oil is not a problem for this type of cameras,  (may be different for modern SLRs that meter and focus with aperture wide open and close for the actual picture taking).<br>

Regarding Leica CL...well, i've gotta say i'm in love with that cam. Even though I'm pretty good at guessing light conditions, I like that it has a meter for those difficult to ponder situations (unlike M2 or M4), it's relatively small (which is good for travel photography, one of my interests). And the combo camera + lens can be found at *very* good prices now (for the same money I could get a new Bessa R3 or a used M4, I could get camera and lens). </p><p>I've also fancied the Bessa R3, but its larger, and I'm not sure if its that sturdy.</p><p>One question: what camera would be a better match for 50mm? As far as I know the CL has 50mm marks, right?<br><br>

Thanks to all for your kind replies.<br></p>