ben_cops

+1 for the 50 1.4 although its obviously a bit long for standard on a crop sensor.

The 35 1.4 *will* make your photos stand out. Maybe a used 20, 30 or 40d + a 35 1.4 if you can run to it, and forget about the zoom?

I was waiting for the 5d2 for (what seems like) years but after thinking about what I was going to have to do with those 21MP files I was tempted by a 2nd hand 5d1. Then, eventually I decided to go for a 2nd had 1d mk2. The 1.3 crop is less painful than the 1.6, makes my 35mm 1.4L a great standard lens, the viewfinder's bigger and brighter and the 45 focus points and 8.5fps are a massive bonus. Also, it handles like an absolute dream. Coming from a 20d (same MP) its been a great move so far, loving it.

And it cost less than a new 50d. Used 5d1s are going to be < £500 shortly so I still may go for one (and still have £700+ left from what I'd saved for a 5d2) although I fear I'm a bit enamoured by the 1d form factor now....

OK I take it back about the crumplers - I didn't realise they did shoulder bags that big!

The crumplers are nice and I have one for my old 20d which after a fair bit of wear is now worn in enough to work very nicely. I also have a backpack which is nice but really bulky and barely fits anything due to all the padding.

The Tamrac pro 8 looks a bit... large - maybe the 7? I'll do some research on these two though... cheers

Me too, but they don't fit 1d shaped cameras.

Anyone know any bags that do!

Hi all

I need a recommendation on a shoulder bag for a canon 1d2. I'm coming from a 20d and none of my bags fit the

new shape camera!

I want an over the shoulder bag to take the camera (ideally oriented base down) with a couple of lenses (not big

ones - the largest is the 200mm f2.8 L prime, everything else is wide primes) and a flash - as compact as possible

to hold those items.

Any recommendations?

Thanks in advance

Ben

Personally I find the flash on full auto very impressive.

Either stick the camera in full auto or in manual and set your preferred shutter speed and aperture - the flash will light the scene correctly. So long as you use bounce flash you'll get good results indoors.

Hi all

Where do you store all your gear? Like most of you I have a bunch of cameras, half a dozen lenses, bits and

bobs, flashes, etc - its all just hanging round on shelves or in various bags and really I'd like to store it

somewhere organised. Some sort of box\case that could sit on a shelf for easy access, be closable to keep out

dust, lockable to keep out kids, and potentially transportable if needbe.

I've been looking at the peli cases as they seem to fit the bill butI think they're a bit... overkill perhaps

although something along those lines would be good. Also they probably wouldn't open easily if on a shelf.

Any ideas?

cheers

Ben

Its a D70, so I think the 50mm 1.4.

thanks all for your input!

Ben

Thanks all for your responses.

I know what you mean about the 50mm being a bit long - I love my canon 50mm f1.4 but shoot nearly 100% of my shots with my 35mm f1.4 L - that lens is 7x the price of the 50mm though and a bit extravagant for xmas :)

The choice is I think between the 50mm 1.4 and the 35mm f2. I think he would definitely shoot with the extra aperture when he has access to it but I now worry he won't use it due to it being too long. I'd say 90% of the photo's he'll take will be of his family so...

Hi all

I am a Canon user but lets not dwell on that. My brother has a Nikon and a

couple of very naff lenses for it - what I want to buy him for xmas is the

canon 50mm f1.4 because its amazing and nearly free. There's an equivalent

nikon - my question is; is it as good and as good value?

Thanks!

Ben

5d2 march april next year?

Possible: http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/02/canons-eos-7d-gets-its-very-own-upc/

I'm not sure you should be buying a DSLR as an investment.

For my money the difference between the 20/30/40D and the rebel, etc is in the handling and the feel of the camera and makes a huge difference. The rebel feels like a toy. If you're worried about the money why don't you get a 2nd hand 20D? The difference between that and the 30D is pretty much just the LCD screen.

The 40D has a lot more though.

My main problem with portrait mode is lack of control over ISO and not being able to use RAW. Other than that its perfect for flash photography of people indoors - the results are really good.

Somebody who shoots with flash on full manual - what's your "workflow"? What do you think when you're about to take a shot, what do you adjust when you've got your eye to the viewfinder and you're lining up the shot?

Nadine - good point about setting M with shutter speed at 250.

To be brutally honest I didn't pay any attention to P mode when reading the manual. Trying it out with the flash it seems it pins the aperture at 2.8. My MO at the moment is to stick it on Av and pick the aperture and ISO I want - clearly this aint gonna work with flash.

"It seems you don't mind the black/dark backgrounds. Most people do.

"; what I want is whatever the hell its doing in the auto modes - apparently its evaluating whats the conditions are like and picking a foreground and background exposure that will be hand holdable.

I just think... canon did such a good job with the flash in the auto modes - with that bouncing the photos look like they were shot in full daylight. I just wish I could have that AND pick the aperture AND have it expose the photo correctly without me frantically spinning a wheel whilst I miss a shot trying to make some green numerals stop flashing in the viewfinder!

"Listed for the 350th time this year:" - that just goes to show how poor the experience is with speedlites on non-auto. Personally I simply didn't know how to search for the answer on google!

Anyway thanks all for your responses. In my travels on this forum I came across the CF "flash sync speed in Av" - doesn't setting this to 250 (fixed) do what I want? Having shot a couple of photos in the dark... it appears to?

Maybe I should spend some time trying to get to grips with full manual (which I had previously discounted as just for the most special of edge cases - I use bulb mode more than manual).

All

Apologies in advance as this may be a stupid question.

I have a 20d and a 430ex. When I have the camera in one of the auto modes (eg

portrait) and the flash fires, the shutter speed is fast and the entire scene

is exposed for the flash. If I take the same shot in one of the manual modes

(eg AP) the shutter is open long enough to expose the background normally, then

the flash fires to expose the foreground. Whilst this sounds good on paper I

think the results are usually terrible (indoors portraits with the white

balance of the background all over the place, blurred backgrounds, etc).

My question is how do I make the flash fire in a similar way to auto mode in a

manual mode. Usually I just want to set the aperture, ISO and shoot in RAW.

Thanks in advance!

Ben