pierre_c1

<p>Valve made Steam. It works. I buy some games, my girlfriend buys some games. She comes to my place, logs in on her Steam account on my PC, and magically all of her games are available. Log off, log on with my account, my games are available. Go to a friend's place, log in, it just works.<br>

I zapped my old PC, built a new one, reinstalled Steam, guess what, it works. Everything I bought is there, click, it works.<br>

Now Adobe puts the DRM activation crap on their software. Apply crack, problem solved. The DVD stays in the box on the shelf, plastic wrap unopened.<br>

They should distribute their stuff through Steam and that would be so much better...</p>

 

<p>Lightroom is extremely slow, kudos to Adobe developers for being so good at wasting CPU resources.<br>

Although Lightroom only uses a fraction of its potential, I've noticed my new Core i7 makes it a lot faster than my previous Core 2 Duo.<br>

So, since your time is money, if you have an older PC, consider updating. 4GB RAM and a Core i7 isn't that expensive...</p>

<p>...and either tell your subjects to stay still, or wait for the right moment when they dont move to take the shot.</p>

<p>Lots of good advice here...<br>

> I am a newbie in photography<br>

Watch out for the shutter speed and use high ISO if needed. Since you say you are a newbie, you need to learn how to properly hold your camera to minimize shake. With a 35/1.8, at 1.8 aperture, if you focus on the right spot, that spot will be sharp, but the rest will be out of focus. Learn about depth of fiedl...<br>

With a 35, you need :<br>

- about 1/50 s if you hold the camera the "newbie" way, that is with both hands on the camera<br>

- about 1/30 s if you hold it properly, with the right hand on the camera (finger on shutter button) and the left hand held around the lens<br>

- if you put your left elbow on a stable support like furniture or your knee if you sit down, your arm acts like a tripod, supporting the camera from the bottom, so you can go down to 1/8s, take several shots using multishot mode<br>

- in singleshot mode, your finger on the shutter button will make the camera move, try to minimize that, it takes some practice.<br>

Happy shooting ;)</p>

<p>I've made a quick prototype, everything works (control of the camera by left hand, E-TTL flash, etc). This project will have to wait until my next Farnell order (shouldn't be too long) so I can get this :<br /> <br /> http://fr.farnell.com/pro-power/gc1098/cable-spirale-8-conduc-gris/dp/1202619<br /> <br /> By the way the € 50 Canon off camera flash cable contains just a protection diode. I consider it stealing...</p>

<p>I like gels (I should buy some more), for color correction but also for other funny applications : for instance you can put a blue filter on the camera (or in Lightroom), and a yellow filter on the flash, and use that in daylight (overcast day works better). The subject will have the right colors, but everything else will be blue. Other combinations work, too.<br /> <br /> I've tried a diffuser and it makes aiming much less critical so I'm probably going to drop the modelling light, or just use it as a focus assist. The flash has a focus assist on it but it isnt firing for some reason, gotta check this.<br /> <br /> The belt strap is an excellent idea.<br /> <br /> Parts are on order, so I'm waiting...</p>

<p>I got a Sigma EF-500 super flash for EUR 10 at the thrift shop because the hotshoe connector is broken.<br /><br />This was a good deal ! E-TTL is fully supported with my EOS 450D and it works with the Canon Off-Camera Shoe Cord II (using lots of tape to hold the broken hotshoe connector, lol).<br /><br />Anyway I plan to modify this flash to use it as a "Party Flash". I really like this concept :<br /><br />- Flash is held in the left hand, a diffuser is mounted on it (Lumiquest for instance).<br /><br />- Camera is held in the right hand, using a special camera strap that allows to hold and operate the camera with only one hand.<br /><br />I guess lots here have practised this technique, it works very well. Here are a few examples : <br /><br />http://photo.peufeu.com/main.php?g2_itemId=11665<br />In this picture, the flash is held to the left. It is a Canon 380EX flash. The camera is set to manual, and the flash to auto E-TTL mode.<br /><br />Here, the flash is held at arm's length to the right : http://photo.peufeu.com/main.php?g2_itemId=11617<br />(exif says "no flash" : an old Sunpak torch was used, so the camera is unaware of it).<br /><br />I like the looks of these, it is very different from the usual IN YOUR FACE look of on-camera flash (even with a diffuser).<br /><br />So, here is what I am going to do :<br /><br />* (already done) : cut the Canon Off-Camera Shoe Cord II in half and add connectors in the middle. I believe the price for a 3-foot Canon Cable is total abuse, so when I need longer reach I use a $5 DIY extension cord.<br /><br />-*rip open the Sigma Flash and <br />- add a Modeling Light (3W LED, color TBD, probably white).<br />- replace the broken hotshoe with a cable which can connect to my custom Canon cable.<br /><br />Now I'll get a very usable setup, but then :<br /><br />* I will add a handle to this flash. On the handle will be 3 buttons : Modeling Light, Autofocus, Shoot.<br /><br />Modeling Light will switch on the LED. This solves the problem of aiming the flash which is a bit tricky. It will also be useful as an AF Assist light.<br /><br />The other 2 buttons will behave like the Canon Remote. If my right hand fingers are operating the zoom and holding the camera, I can't press the shutter without moving my hand. This is annoying. The flash hand has several usable fingers. So I will focus and shoot with the left hand.<br /><br />While I'm at it I'll also add to the flash : an external supply connector, a tripod mount, and a wrist band. I'll post a DIY howto...<br /><br />Anyway, I'm looking for ideas, what did I forget ?</p>

<p> </p>

One option I loved on the 20D is that it could shoot RAW + small JPEGs. This is great to upload the small JPEGs on the web when you're in vacation. My new 450D only has RAW + large JPEGs, so I don't shoot JPEGs anymore.

 

However as Tom says, if you set the camera to "vivid", then what is on the screen is processed with the "vivid" settings. This includes the histogram. Then generally you get blown-out highlights or pitch black shadows. Then you'll wonder, is the data in the RAW so you can recover it later in Lightroom ? You can't really know. So, I always set the camera to the mode with the least contrast, and least saturated colors, so the histogram looks a bit closer to the real RAW. Then I know I can process it correctly in Lightroom.

There is an option to backup the catalog every N days, look in the menu. It's just a file, it contains all the settings. You can back it up yourself or use the lightroom reminder. It doesn't back up the previews (that would be slow...)

 

It's a sqlite database by the way so if you want to dig into it, there are free tools for that. The database schema is a mess though.

 

The fun thing in Lightroom is that the complicated things are super fast (like 2 seconds to process a 12 Mpix raw file... lol... that used to tage ages...) and the simple stuff like moving a slider is quite slow. Go figure.

I've had that exact same problem and solved it with a very small Python script.

Filenames need to be unique however.

 

no help file provided though ! have fun, lol.

http://home.peufeu.com/posts/photo/rebuild_tree_lightroom.py

LR's catalog contains only the metadata, your files stay as files and the previews are stored somewhere else. So, in theory, you could do that. In practice however, I would never do that for several reasons :

 

1- for the same reason that you don't put databases on NFS or Samba (subtle differences in the sync behaviour of networked filesystems can destroy your data).

2- it will probably be horribly slow.

 

Out of curiosity I put my catalog on a networked drive. Adobe devs know about point 1 above because Lightroom refuses to open it.

I use a Linux PC with linux software RAID. So I have one RAID1 with 2x 250GB for the OS, and one RAID5 with 3x1TB for data storage. This gives 2.25TB total. It's about half full.

 

This linux box is very nice as a desktop too, to browse the web without getting virussed.

 

The windows PC is connected to this box via gigabit ethernet. While the RAID in the linux box reaches 200 MB/s, windows file sharing only reaches 60-70 MB/s but that's OK.

 

In the last years I lost a few harddisks, no data loss though.

GBP£1000 is way too much ;)

It will cost you much less than 500.

 

First, forget about DELL, when you bought DELL it was great because of the warranty, this is no longer the case.

Since assembling a PC takes about 15 minutes I usually do it myself.

 

Anyway, I got a brand new PC last week, Core 2 Quad Q9300, 4GB, GeForce 9800, and a 500GB seagate HDD.

The case is an Antec Sonata 3 which is very nice, and the power supply is silent.

 

Of course I installed XP 32 bits since 64 bits is useless with only 4G. With 6-8GB, yeah 64 bits could be useful (if

you could get a 64 bit version of Photoshop).

 

But anyway if you're just editing photos you'll never need all that memory. PS will use about 1G, max. Of course,

Lightroom will be very happy to eat the rest...

 

Lightroom 2 is super fast on this PC btw. Exporting a big batch of RAWs does use the 4 cores... so it's about 2x

faster than on the dual core I had before. 12 megapixels RAW take about 2 seconds to process, lol. And the PC still

feels snappy.

I have a VX2025, I really like it.

Those were shot from Icefields Pkwy. On the site there are also photos from the Maligne Pass hiking trail, a very beautiful place. I hope you enjoy the trip, I certainly did !

 

http://photo.peufeu.com/main.php?g2_itemId=3954

Obviously in some cases it is better not to say anything.<div></div>

Dog sniffs my boot. "Hey, cute dog ! I like your hair too, can I take a picture ?"<div></div>

Simply asking "I dig the glasses man, can I take a picture ?"<div></div>

Saw this guy in front of me in a train in Japan, in that pose. As I framed the shot, he opened an eye, looked at me, we both smiled, and he resumed his meditation. So, you can say in this case I asked for permission and he granted it, although it was non-verbal.<div></div>

To get back on the topic a little ;)

 

Saw this girl in a NY street. I told her out of the blue that I really liked her hair, then took the photo. Actually, I think she's irresistibly pretty, but couldn't say that, cause my gf (who was there) would have kicked my butt, lol.<div></div>

Those very funny communists were too busy indoctrinating a passersby to notice me. This one was taken in my home town. This protest was quite ridiculously entertaining, as all French protests always are.<div></div>

Pointing a camera caused this reaction in Danshui, Taipei, Taiwan. But then again, this is Taiwan, one of the friendliest places you can visit. The only word of Chinese I know is "Thank you".<div></div>

Japanese girls need to have their photo taken at least every day.

Note that I know about 50 words of japanese, including "can I take your picture, you're pretty", of course.<div></div>

First, this washed out white sky hurts. Why not crop it off to make a square picture ? It is butt ugly. It is a problem. Get rid of it. It will simplify your work.

First, fix the hole in your contract. For instance, specify a price for RAW. That will avoid repeating this headache.

 

Then, what will you lose if you give them the RAWs ?

 

If you lose nothing, well, then give them. A happy customer is always good for business. End of headache.

 

Unlike negs you can give your RAWs and still keep them... so it is only a matter of money loss... that's up to you to decide...

 

But if they want to make a huge print that means they like your pics. So be nice to them. Their friends will perhaps need a photog sometime in the future.