donaldamacmillan

<p>Hi folks</p>

<p>I bought my 40D brand-new about 4 years ago. I've never updated it's firmware, i imagine that there have been numerous firmware upgrades that have been released over the years, but i've just never gotten around to doing this (also been a bit daunted by the process, admittedly). </p>

<p>Should i get to grips with this and upgrade my 40D's firmware? If yes, should i install each individual upgrade? Or am i okay to just download the most recent, and should my 40D operate perfectly fine upon doing so? I live in the UK and i've since checked that the Canon UK site nolonger offers firmware upgrades for the 40D but Canon USA does, am i ok to download any upgrades from the USA site for my camera? </p>

<p>Many thanks for any advice given. </p>

<p>Kindest regards,<br>

Donaldo</p>

<p>Hi folks</p>

<p>I hope that this isn't too silly a question! I am just a wee bit unsure .... I've just had to have the hard-drive of my computer replaced but it's come back with Windows 7 operating system and not Windows Vista that i originally had .... Will my Canon DPP software run ok on Windows 7? I got DPP when i bought my 40D in 2008 and it's still the original version, i've never installed any upgrades ..... Should i expect my 'old' version of DPP to work just fine on my new hard-drive and operating system? </p>

<p>Hoping for much re-assurance please if possible .....</p>

<p>Kind regards,<br>

Donaldo</p>

<p>Hi people</p>

<p>Having used my OM-1n recently for the first time and really enoying the experience, i am looking to expand my currently modest 'old' Olympus SLR kit. </p>

<p>Currently i've got:</p>

<p>Zuiko 24mm f2.8<br>

Zuiko 50mm f1.8<br>

Zuiko 135mm f3.5<br>

Zuiko 35-70mm f3.6<br>

Vivitar Series 1 28-105mm f2.8/3.8<br>

Carl Zeis Jena 70-210mm f4./5.6</p>

<p>I'm fairly open-minded about what i might like to add based on i like landscape and portrait photography mostly, but i am very interested in knowing what my quality MACRO lens options are with an OM-1n please. Also, i don't have a flash just now either ..... </p>

<p>I'd be very grateful for any suggestions from folks please ... </p>

<p>Kind regards<br>

Donaldo</p>

<p>Hi Louis</p>

<p>Thanks so much! :)) Loved your images, and like many of your responses in particular your portrait and the creek at sunset .... Gorgeous! My spools will be off in the post ASAP! </p>

<p>Some of my images may find their way on here too, possibly .... We'll have to see. </p>

<p>And that 35mm f2 has got me thinking too .... :)) </p>

<p>Donaldo</p>

<p>Hi Chris,</p>

<p>Many thanks. I think i'd seen that review that you've seen. I had just wondered if anyone on here has had some hands-on experience and personal opinion .... I always come on here as a first choice source of experience and opinion and appreciate up-to-date comments too. </p>

<p>Kind regards<br>

Donaldo</p>

<p>Hi folks</p>

<p>I've been using my 35-70mm f3.6 Zuiko for the first time just recently whilst on holiday on the Scottish Western Isles. I used it with my OM-1n. I haven't had the chance yet to send my film away for processing and printing but i am really looking forward to seeing the results, mostly moody landscapes, colour and monochrome, but also some natural light portraits. So, before i see for myself how good image quality is with this lens, what do folks generally think/feel? Should i expect more than decent impressive results with this lens? Assuming of course that i've been exposing my film properly! I bought this lens based on reasonable reviews as a general purpose walkabout lens, are there better options that i might have considered or looked for? </p>

<p>Looking forward to anyone else's opinion/experiences. </p>

<p>Kind regards,<br>

Donaldo</p>

<p>Hi folks</p>

<p>I'm puting this query on here because i use Canon gear but i think i have the same puzzlement regardless of cameras/lenses involved .... </p>

<p>I've been reading quite a lot recently on 'how to' take quality wide-field astrophotographs; basically night-time landscapes but with brilliant starry skies (with/without trails) and/or auroras .... The advice is almost always to use a fast wide-angle lens, and lo and behold i am seeing many wonderful images of landscapes aglow with delicate star-light and/or auroras .... But many of them are shot at the lens being wide open, f2.8, etc .... And yet the sharpness throughout the image is really quite, sharp! I'm seeing pin-point stars and star trails and objects, even people in the mid to near fore-ground being apparently very sharp too .... How is this possible at such wide apertures? This is what is puzzling me a lot. I appreciate wide-angle lenses do permit more depth of field, but still i am often very surprised at the apparent great amount of depth of field that i am seeing in many wide aperture low light/night-time images ..... </p>

<p>I have a 40D and a 10-22mm f3.5/4.5 E-FS lens, Can i use this set-up for night-time/astrophotography and expect 'sharp' landscapes and stars at my widest apertures? </p>

<p>Kind regards<br>

Donaldo</p>

<p>Hi folks</p>

<p>Hope someone can give me some advice .... I'm almost certainly making a 'brave' decision ... At the end of this week i'm almost certainly taking my OM-1n plus a couple of Zuiko lenses with me on my week's holiday to the Scottish Western Isles .... I've not used my OM-1n as much as i'd have liked by now so i'm wondering how i best achieve good creative exposures using Cokin P neutral densities? </p>

<p>Any tips and suggestions re correct metering/exposures most gratefully received! </p>

<p>Kindest regards<br>

Donaldo</p>

<p>Yeah, i've certainly bought it .... A bit of a 'spur of the moment' thing, i certainly didn't walk in to the store on Saturday looking to acquire a teleconverter! I fully expect it to enhance my 70-200, like i said .... But still wonder if it would be able to be used on any or all of my other lenses? .... Can using it with any of my other lenses 'harm' them in any way? </p>

<p>Sorry if i'm asking anything particularly daft! </p>

<p>Donaldo</p>

<p>Hi folks</p>

<p>Just a question about exactly how useful a third party x2 teleconverter might be to me .... I have a 40D and the following lenses:</p>

<p>10-22mm EF-S<br>

30mm f1.4 sigma<br>

50mm f1.8 EF mkII<br>

60mm f2.8 EF-S macro<br>

70-200 f4 L non-IS</p>

<p>Obviously i bought it with mainly my 70-200mm in mind, but, A) How well will it work with my 70-200? How much aperture will i lose? And B) Will it work at all with any of my other lenses? </p>

<p>I certainly like the thought of turning my 70-200 in to a more useful 'wild-life' lens and may even give a wee bit lunar photography a try .... </p>

<p>Thanks in advance for any advice/insight given .... </p>

<p>Kindest regards,<br>

Donaldo</p>

<p>Hi folks</p>

<p>Happy New Year! </p>

<p>Not sure if i'm in the correct forum with this question .... If i'm not, please feel free to move me! </p>

<p>I currently have some ISO 50 black and white film (cannot recall the manufacturer this very minute, a German brand i think ...) in my Nikon FM3a and i'm just itching to try some lunar photography .... What kind of shutter speeds shoud i try to achieve decent clear, bright exposures? I know this is a slow film and would probably not be thought to be ideal for this kind of subject/use, but i am curious enough to try .... And i don't want to waste too many of the 10, or so, frames that i've got left in my camera .... </p>

<p>It is my intention to attach my FM3a to my Orion SkyView ED80 refractor, and i'm aiming to try both prime-focus and eye-piece projection approaches to imaging the moon ... I think my concerns are that i set a shutter speed that is quick enough to avoid any 'trailing' of the moon due to the rotation of the Earth (keeping my images diamond sharp, i hope!) but 'slow' enough to achieve a bright exposure .... I would just experiment happily enough the next clear night with a crescent moon in the sky but, like i said, i don't have too many frames to play about with and i hope to get at least 2-3 decent shots, if i can .... </p>

<p>Any advice much appreciated! </p>

<p>Donaldo</p>

<p>Hey Dave</p>

<p>Sorry, i haven't been back on Photo.net for a few days .... I've got a 600mm f7.5 telescope, an Orion optics ED80 ..... </p>

<p>Cheers<br>

Donaldo</p>

<p>Hi folks</p>

<p>Merry Christmas! I've had an 80mm refractor telescope for a few years now. It has an equatorial mount with an electronic drive. It's been very under-used almost since i bought it but now i'd really like to attatch my EOS 40D to it and give a bit of astrophotography a go .... I've got a T-ring for my 40D and a T-adaptor to connect to my telescope .... I'm not sure about doing long exposures for a while yet, even though i've got the motor drive, but i am really keen to try some lunar photography, maybe some planetary and bright star cluster imaging .... What i really am anxious to be re-assured about is the actual connecting of camera to telescope, i have read on the internet that you can get error readings because the camera isn't able to detect the apperture setting .... This issue (?) really puzzles me because i've seen so many astro images taken with a 40D, so i am accepting that a 40D can be connected to a telescope and can certainly take impressive images but am just wishing to be exactly sure as to how i properly connect my 40D to my refractor? </p>

<p>After that i just need advice about prime focus astrophotography with my 40D, eye-piece projection, shutter-speeds, moon filters and whether a Barlow lens will be of any use to me in conjuntion with a DSLR? </p>

<p>Hope someone can advise me in some way please .....</p>

<p>Kind regards<br>

Donaldo</p>

<p>My film camera of choice would certainly be my Nikon FM3A. A truly modern and wonderful film camera! Beautifully made; elegant manual simplicity, and very travel friendly too! I certainly love using mine! Just don't use it as much as i'd really like though :-(( </p>

<p>Great thread folks! </p>

<p>Donaldo</p>

<p>Hello folks</p>

<p>I've been using Elements 6 for quite a while now and i am fairly used to using it for the very basic editing that i usually do. Should i upgrade now to Elements 10? Is Elements 10 significantly better than Elements 6? What can Elements 10 do that 6 can't do so good or even at all? I'm not interested in 'digital art', only in improved photo-editing, particularly black and white conversions, and yes i always 'shoot' in raw. </p>

<p>Looking forward to any advice/thoughts .... </p>

<p>Kindest regards,<br>

Donaldo</p>

<p>@ Rob and Puppy<br>

More explanation required please ... What are you both talking about? </p>

<p>Donaldo :-))</p>

<p>With my 40D:<br>

EF-S 10-22mm f3.5-4.5<br>

EF 50mm f1.8</p>

<p>But i'd so miss my 70-200mm f4 L ! I love that lens loads too! :-) </p>

<p>Donaldo</p>

<p>Hi Scott</p>

<p>Thanks so much, i have promptly ordered this book ... It looks like just what i'm looking for! Am still happy for anyone else to pass on any advice they think might be useful .... </p>

<p>Donaldo</p>

<p>Hi folks</p>

<p>I've always been a wee bit uncertain about 'flash photography' .... I've got a 40D and a EX430 mkI speedlite, and i'm just wondering about general advice regarding 'best use' of my camera/flash to achieve most natural results please? I know that sounds a bit vague ... sorry! I'm just very inexperienced with dedicated flash, but every now-and-again i do need to use (i.e. at my cousine's wedding dance Friday night past!) flash and i'm just not yet confident that i'm using my flash to it's best potential .... </p>

<p>I've read the manual, so i can do 'bounce-flash' and set to ETTL zoom .... And i can manually adjust the output too, i think .... But what is the 'secret' to getting flash photography right? When should i choose ETTL zoom mode over manual flash level? When should i be using flash exposure compensation? At my cousine's wedding it was evening, indoors, everything was white (ceiling/walls/flooring) and mostly subdued lighting .... I was shooting with my 50mm f1.8 (mkII) .... I set my flash to ETTL zoom 80mm to take into account my 40D's 1.6x crop-factor (is that right?), and then i just 'shot away' .... I was on manual exposure, 1/250th @ f5.6 most of the eve ... Although quite a few shots came out 'ok' looking quite a few didn't 'fire' at all and were dark, and my exposure indicator was continually flashing at 2 stops under-exposed ... Why? No matter what i did, changing f-stop or increasing ISO i couldn't bring back the exposure indicator .... </p>

<p>So, i'm a bit puzzled about my flash performance the other night and i'm just generally enquiring about how to really get the most from my flash, both indoors and out, night-time and daylight .... Are there any recommended books on canon flash photography that won't be too technical and daunting? </p>

<p>Hope even one person can offer me some advice here, on a area of photography that i am very unsure of .... </p>

<p>Thanks in advance,<br>

Donaldo</p>

<p>Hiya!</p>

<p>I treasure my Nikon FM3A and my numerous Ai/AiS primes (20,24,28,35,45,50,85 & 105mms) .... I also enjoy using my Olympus OM-1n with 24, 50, 135mms, and a few telephoto zooms that i picked-up for decent prices off E-bay the past few months .... I love the manual mechanical nirvana! Long live film! </p>

<p>Best wishes from Scotland,<br>

Donaldo</p>

<p>Hi folks</p>

<p>I'm just having a minor, bordering on major panic at the moment. I was reformating a couple of memory cards this morning, in-between cards i thought i'd switched off my 40D but i hadn't .... I just wasn't paying proper attention (half asleep still, up too late last night, up too early this morning!), i had only thumbed the power switch from the main control dial setting to the 'on' setting, i hadn't switched-off my 40D .... So with my camera inadvertedly still on i actually changed memory cards! I know that doing this is a general no-no and i am kicking myself very hard and fretting much about 'have i damaged my camera'? </p>

<p>As far as i can tell both cards and the camera seem ok .... I've shot an image on both cards and then reformated each card again, remembering to switch-off properly this time! As i said, all seems well .... Could there be some harm done though that isn't apparent just yet? Could i have damaged something (card, camera, or both?) even though nothing is glaringly/alarmingly obvious yet? </p>

<p>Still kicking myself! <br>

Donaldo</p>

<p>I cropped my image on my computer using Elements 6 then saved my image (square cropped) on to my memory stick .... I do use a computer but haven't yet connected it to my new printer .... </p>

<p>Donald</p>

<p>Hi folks</p>

<p>Hope someone can help me out with a small difficulty that i'm having with my new above photo printer .... </p>

<p>I haven't connected my computer to my printer yet but i thought i'd print a couple of images off my memory stick. One of my images i'd cropped in a square format but when i set the printer to the A4 size paper that i was using and printed the image, the image printed full A4 size, not square as i had cropped! The picture looks fine full A4 size, but it isn't the way i wanted it .... I can't see any on-screen 'prompts' on the printer that would direct the printer to print 'square' when i want it to .... I must be able to do this?! </p>

<p>Can anyone help/advise me please?! </p>

<p>Kind regards,<br>

Donaldo</p>

<p>Hi there</p>

<p>I've been out taking evening landscapes tonight with my 40D, 10-22mm EF-S and a Hoya infra-red filter attached. I took three images with the above 'set-up', and each one had the almost same un-expected issue .... Two of the images were portait format and each had a distinct verticle 'line'. To the left of the line the image was bright red, as you'd expect from an infra-red filter, to the right there was a distinct paleness even slightly magenta hint .... The 'line' was positioned about a third into the 'frame' and was completely straight. The third image was landscape format and the same line was present, fairly identicle except for being horizontal in position, but the same colour contrast issue and a third into the frame too. </p>

<p>I've used this filter before several times with no such issues. </p>

<p>Exposure settings were very similar for all three images: 2, 4 and 6 minute bulb exposures; ISO 400; f18-22; auto white balance; manual focus .... Lighting conditions: generally overcast; late evening; sun covered with cloud, except for a few minutes during the second exposure, and at about 180 degrees to the direction i was pointing my camera; by the time i was doing my 3rd and final exposure the sun had set and some light rain was starting to fall .... </p>

<p>Also i was shooting raw files. </p>

<p>Does anyone have any idea as to what might be causing this 'line' to appear in my infra-red images? I have not seen this before. It is a very noticeable colour contrast: bright red to the left; more magenta to the right .... I haven't transferred the images yet to my laptop, i am hoping to find out what has caused this first .... None of the few images i took tonight are all that special, all very soft despite small aperture and tripod mounted and cable shutter release. Very tempted to scrub the lot of them! I may download the infra-red images though if anyone feels they really need to see them (very fed-up though at this exact moment, just been one of those days) .... Maybe this line/colour contrast could be photoshoped 'out'? </p>

<p>Any help/advice/explanation/experience about this very VERY much appreciated. Is this a filter issue, or a sensor issue? Images that i took without the filter appear 'normal' enough .... </p>

<p>Thanks,<br>

Donaldo</p>

<p>Ps - please feel free to relocate my querie if i'm in the wrong forum with this issue .... </p>

<p>Hi folks</p>

<p>I'd really like to add a OM Macro lens to my collection .... I would like it to also serve as a decent portrait lens if possible, but mainly i'd like a really sharp and versatile Macro lens ..... </p>

<p>I'd be very grateful for any suggestions and advice given .... </p>

<p>Kind regards to all,<br>

Donaldo</p>