charles_reid

<p>Tom<br>

I do nature but want to learn people/studio and your advice first sortof rubbed my ego the wrong way then made me realise you're spot on. Thanks for the reminder its not all about gadgets!<br>

Of course it will be nice to have a full indoor studio setup. But really light bulbs are just cheap replacements for the sun. Thannks again.</p>

<p>That is one of the uses ive seen but RARE.<br>

When shoooting birds you're normally at maximum zoom wide open and birds in flight you're always machinegunning. Ive seen uses like you talk about and when they worked they were FANTASTIC. But i think the photographers got lucky mostly. You really need to shoot birds from a tripod or monopod unless theyre large if you can. And fiddling with your flash as well as the constantly changing light as you move the camera across the sky etc has got to be a nightmare. On the other hand.. birds hide. They SEE whaty ou're doing and dont like it. A flash may scare them away but then again.. it'll get rid of the shadows theyre hiding in.</p>

<p>You might also learn to approach women you know or meet the right way. If they feel you're friendly and not some creep (goes for men too of course) some will like the idea.</p>

<p>I think theyre fantastic. You could have gotten more color range but you know people will always nitpick you. These are far better than a lot of "pro" shots ive seen and frankly most "pros" and "artistic photographers" these days all shoot exactly the same shots with the identical setups etc etc. Theyre more like photographic machines than artists.</p>

<p>JD you're better off having what you can afford and shooting than not shooting and spending your life dreaming. I use an Oly (2x factor) with a 70-300@4.5/5.6.. equiv 600mm and its Nearly perfect for birds. Occasionally i wish i had a 500 (1000mm) but its rare. Get yourself a copy of Qimage for upsizing and crop factor wont be a problem.. youd be stunned at how much ive upsized some photos. And truthfully when you get above the 3-400mm range you start needing Still or cooperative birds and a big tripod so it becomes more an expedition about carrying gear .. whereas my 300 is a carry lens..</p>

<p>For macro you should check out manual lenses too. I have a tokina 250 macro around here somewhere that is fantastic. And honestly a +1 +2 +4 macro filter set is great and id match my shots using that up against anyone with the best lenses money can buy.</p>

<p>Exactly. Akira but strangely enough it wasnt the long lens that did them in. The adapters were mostly used to walk around with a 50/1.4 (Love that lens!!!) manual and a 100something. The screws just worked themselves loose over time and next thing you know im in the back yard with frozen fingers cursing as i try to hold the lens in place!</p>

<p>Pfft Landrum</p>

<p>I just bought a new cell (replacing my pda which did not have a camera! Sacrelidge!). I analysed and analysed.. then noticed it had a 5mp sensor autofocus zoom lens and.. well... Now what i want is a small 5mp camera that will fit on my keychain and im covered! Well.. i could use a bluetooth flash for my cellphone ..</p>

<p>Carey: When i was playing with manuals on my dslr i found adaptors for lens mount systems id never even heard of. Check ebay the chinese adapters are decent adapters (just dont let the screws get away from you!). There was even a guy who found a very convoluted solution for using a canon mount that is theoretically impossible to use (and i lost the link right beffore i ran on a really cool old canon lens argh).<br>

MAX you use oly for weddings? Im curious how that works out for you. Extensive flash system? Lots of remote slaves and pole flashes? Or more the top end body mount flash on a flash bar? It had never occurred to me anyone would use an oly for weddings..</p>

<p>I agree totally.<br>

The tiny viewfinder is a Huge annoyance. Get a top end Nikon or Canon and then switch to an oly and you'll be grumbling. Of course to be truely fair you'd compare the oly to the low end canon which it blows away in many areas (all in my opinion).<br>

YOu are certainly correct on niche useage. No wedding photographer in my opinion should carry an oly digital. The ISO disadvantage alone crosses them off the list. Outdoor people photography perhaps it is just different tools for the same job. If your primary were astro photography perhaps youd be best with nikanon if you're mounting on a tele or 4/3rds if not. For nature though if you dont have astonishing amounts of money to spend oly wins hands down. Trust me many a time ive thought (man i wish i had a high end canon) but honestly it was only ever for the iso or because oly hadnt yet come out with the lens i wanted.</p>

<p>BTW on your adaptor a suggestion. Remove the screws and locktite or superglue them back in. I've had two or three different adaptors come apart on me and can NOT seem to find replacement screws. Its pretty annoying holding up a 1000mm equiv lens doing astro because the mountings loose.</p>

<p>Its Charles. Actually i think her best deal would really be a small cheap predigital flash and a wireless slave system (theyre about 30 bucks i believe). But honestly heres a nifty solution<br>

http://www.flickr.com/groups/diyphotography/discuss/72157612027046109/<br>

Way neater than my tape solution. Personally i hate flash but honestly i dont enjoy photographing people so that pretty much cuts my need for flash to near zero anyway.</p>

<p>Theres really one simple nutshell way to compare oly to nikon/canon.<br>

All things being equal (Moneywise etc).<br>

Oly makes a MUCH better system for nature/long shooting<br>

Nikon/Canon make MUCH better low light systems.<br>

Oly zooms give you much more range in fewer lenses.<br>

Oly/Canon have much better lens choice.</p>

<p>All three are fantastic systems.</p>

<p>Glass, software and processing are all more of a limiter than sensor. Ive cropped the heck out of more than a few photos, printed them out at 11x14 and 13x19 and they hang on quite a few peoples walls. I have a dragonfly shot that i cropped to Death (dragonfly was maybe 20% of picture) used qimage to upsize and you couldnt tell it isnt shot from inches away.</p>

<p>Hi Gerry. That was rude and obnoxious. BTW a rep for peterbilt once asked us the same on a trucking board. They didnt want stats. They wanted to know who we were and what we were interested in. Some of the changes in the new trucks (that cost 6 figures btw) seem to reflect some of what we told them.</p>

<p>I love oly because they've been the best at LONG and quality/price ratio for a long time. Unless you only buy top end stuff and are an early adopter you cant beat oly. Their only downsides are ISO and lens choice (PRIMES people. And LONG primes!). But from their prosumer cameras (I still love my c2100uz though its donated to my mom) to the eseries their cameras are perfect for wildlife/outdoors/sports. The only people thing canon/nikon beat oly at are indoor/low light shoots. Period. And that is pure sensor. Nothing beats carrying my 70-300 zoom and getting a 500mm equiv shot standing next to a guy with a canon and a 200 hes straining to hold up and has to worry he might trip over.</p>

<p>Erm my carry lens is a 300 zoom.. but then i dont do people photography much :P</p>

<p>Akira i dont think you ever really tried out the original system if you dont get the advantages. Now if you have deep pockets of course you should have kept away from 4/3 system. But if you dont it blows everythign else away at what its good at. First is lens size.. theres not a lot of difference in short lenses of course (very small difference) but compare a 300 on a 4/3 camera with a 200 on a canon/nikon etc and the difference is stunning. And of course you can use pretty much ANY lens with a 4/3rds system period. (I know.. i have). Plus the zoom difference is a huge deal if you do telephoto. Not to say that to those who can afford it shouldnt opt for a 500/4.5 and the wagon to haul it instead of the 4/3rds 300/4.5 equivalent. But the only disadvantages of 4/3rds were ISO and of course ultrashort lenses (if you needed to go less than say 16mm).<br>

Now when are they coming out with the interchangeable sensors :)</p>

<p>If the only place you ever photograph is weddings or planned model shoots by all means glue that sucker shut and look uberprofessional!<br>

But when youre like me and shoot everywhere once in a blue moon that flash does "save your bacon". I was shooting at a zoo when the light started failing with a 400/5.6 when the light started failing. I only had that 400 and a 50 with me so my choice was give up on long shots or give the on camera flash a shot... most were trash but some of the photos turned out nice. Ive used on camera flash with birds which seemed intent on hiding in dark bushes and it was just the trick. And been at my brothers house with my (at the time) 50/1.4 and used the on camera flash and one of those "unprofesional" bouncers.. aka a piece of index card and some tape.. to capture moments in time of mmy nephews that will never for all eternity happen again.<br>

So i guess on camera flash isnt totally evil though max may want to move to true professionalism and switch over to medium format boxes with large portable-studio lighting systems. Showing professionalism n all that you know.</p>

<p>BTW max one of my best friends just became a wedding photographer. She just learned what ISO and shutter speed are. I taught her more in 20 minutes than she'd had time to learn (she happens to be very not-rich). She's a far far better photographer of people than i and takes some STUNNING pictures.</p>

<p>I do birds a lot and i think ive tried flash once. BUT. I've seen some really fantastic uses of flash in bird and wildlife photography. Mostly to enhance color or cut shadows. I'd get the best lens you can possibly buy rather than worry about a flash. A great monopod/tripod will help more than flash. Even more important is the gas to get where you need to go to photograph the birds!</p>

<p>You've probably gotten way better suggestions than this.<br>

I shoot mostly nature stuff. Love it. For that your carry lens is usually the longest combo you have. If you like nature stuff you MUST have a long lens. But - ive shot a nikon sigma 300 zoom (via adapter) and they frankly suck huge. In fact my new 5mp phone shoots about as well. But.. those lenses resell for about what they're really worth.. pocket change. If your carry lens shoots as good as the kits sell them. If you can sell the 300 and combine to get yourself maybe a fast short lens or an actually decent long lens in the 200 to 300+ range DO IT! But i have to say going from 4.5 to even 1.4 isnt really going to help in real dark indoor settings. Still have to use flash. So if thats the goal why not either get a really good flash or jsut a Nice long lens.</p>

<p>Id suggest you get yourself one Excellent LONG zoom or if you never shoot long the Short prime. On reflectors et al. Theres NO REASON to spend ridiculous amounts on any of this stuff. If its pocket change to you (as it was to me for a while) go for it. but theres Nothing other than the electronics you cant do yourself. Lots of links in the forums, on makezine et al. Beauty dishes, reflectors, beauty dishes, whatever you need. For literally nothing. A piece of notebook paper makes a decent small reflector... a tupperware bowl can be turned into a beauty dish. There are good HEAVY tripods CHEAP out there. You may not be able to show off the namebrand but namebrands dont hold cameras still. Best monopod i ever held was a $20 walmart one.<br>

Then the other stuff like remote slave flashes, cable releases (MUST HAVE) but htose are buyable for practically nothin.</p>

<p>Whatever you do you're gonna be JAZZED when you first do it.. regret the HECK out of it at the same time.. and carry on that cycle for a year or so heh. You're young anyway you're Supposed to make mistakes. But ill guarantee one thing. YOu will never ever regret a quality long lens.</p>

Ok nevermind. I worked on this all day. The moment i posted this i tried to install one more time and was instantly successful, though without the hp software working. figures.

Ive used an 8750 for about a year but bought a vista laptop not long ago (that btw hates xp which has few drivers

that help) and i cannot get it to install the printer. It finds the printer in the search then fails to finish

the install. Luckily the geniuses at MS decided to put even more layers of trashware between the user and the

hardware so it is impossible to tell why. Has anyone had this problem? Found a solution? I hate switching to xp

and halving half my hardware unuseable while i print. any help would be appreciated.

Thanks for all your advice. I was actually hesitant about posting this. Im fairly sure im going to keep the gear. I've decided to change careers and will be in school/working for the next 2+ years and its doubtful i'll be able to buy any gear whatsoever for 3 or 4 years minimum and to do without photography completely for that amount of time (or use a cheap p&S) would just suck. I'll find another way to take care of my health when i can thanks.

 

Charles

Old post but i was considering the 70-300 without telecon at low range up to telecon with at top end.

Warren,

 

Beautiful picture. Beautiful baby. One of the rare times i think b&w was PERFECT

You may also want to do your own "hot pixel detection" at exposures that long. One with lens cover on then the real a minute later then use photoshop to eliminate hotpixels. You're 510 must be a Nice one because at exposures shorter than that for me the quality was just too low.