brian_bahn

Not sure if thsi is the correct forum but it's Minolta so I will put it here.

I have a Minolta Weathermatic 35mm and need to replace the battery. the battery in it is a Duracell XL 6 volt lithium.

Where can I find a direct replacement or even an alternate replacement? I did some searchign and keep coming up

with 3 volt versions. Is there a website or store you can point me to? Thanks.

Over the weekend I got up with the roosters and went to a nearby local park with magnificent views to shoot the

sunrise. This si the first time shooting a sunrise so I expected to be fiddling with settings and in general a learning

experience. I have a few questions I am hoping to get answered because we are going to the beach(Ocean City, MD)

for a week next week and I am hoping to learn a little from this past week.

I will post a link to my gallery here titled "Sunrise" that I put some of the shots I took so you can see what they look

like. (Yes, I know there is a huge blob in the lower right quadrant, I have an Oly E510 with dust reduction and I'm

wandering where the blob came from, I haven't looked at the camera yet since noticing it).

My questionss are:

1. Which filter would have given me more blue and/or "pop" from the sky? I know a polarizer will give deeper blue

skies but with the intense light from the sun would that have even been enough?

2. Would a ND filter have allowed me to go with longer shutter speeds to get the foreground brighter to see the

wildflower and grass fields more?

3. Like I said I experimented a lot since it was my first time. Some shots I would tilt the camera down(using Slik U-

212) focus on a spot approx. 12 ft in front of me(aperture set at f14 for most) then recompose while holding shutter

halfway, lock the tripod then release shutter. So the exposure, set at ESP(average) would have been using the grass

mostly, then the sky would blow out white, as I would have expected. Some shots I left the camera still and focused

on the horizon, or the sky, then the foreground was darkened, as expected. So is my only way of getting a balanced

shot to bracket the exposure and overlay in Photoshop, which I don't have? Would adjusting the exposure

compensation have helped?

4. The shot with the compass I like except the sky has no "pop". If I had Photoshop Elements(I intend to buy this)

would I be able to do anything with the sky? (Feel free to PP as you wish and give me ideas).

Are there any tips or advice you can give after viewing my folder of the sunrise? I really appreciate any help.

http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=855097

I want to get a remote release for my e510. Will mostly be used to reduce any shake on long shutter exposures on

tripod. My question is which to get. Wireless or cable and what are the advantages of the cable release since I see it

is higher cost? Thanks.

Jim,

I wanted to thank you for the link in the thread I started about the Dandelion chip ..to the chip you purchased I thought it had said in there that you felt it wasn't perfect but when I went to look at it again it didn't say that so I may have seen it in another post of yours. Now you have cleared it up a little mntioning the size of the lens being the issue. The Vivitar 70-210 3.5 is fairly large and may present the same problem.

With the AF chip do you find yourself rotating past the beep sound then back and missing it again or is it fairly easy to get it right on after a little time using it?

I've been searching old threads for info on AF confirm chips(Dandelion chip), Katz Eye screens, and Olympus

magnifying eyecup. All to help with manual focusing on my E510 using my OM lenses of which I have the 50mm

1.8, 28mm 3.5, Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm 3.5, and my newly purchased 135mm 3.5(I am worried I should have held

out for a 135mm 2.8 but I got the 3.5 for $20 U.S. so I can't complain). I'd liek to get a 100mm 2.8 eventually.

I was thinking the 2.8's for indoor sports mainly(wrestling) because I can't really afford the ZD 50-200mm 2.8.

I currently have no focus aid and am struggling a little to get it right. When it's brighter I am fairly decent but the less

light the more difficult. I have the Fotodiox adapter and it works well and I am debating which focus aid will benefit

most. I worry about tearing the camera apart since it's only a few months old...but I worry about the Dandelion chip

marking/wearing the cameras contacts as well.

While I've found a decent amount of info what I was thinking may be helpful to me and maybe future researchers is a

thread where instead of everyone giving their opinion about each individual option is can you answer two questions:

1. Do you even use manual focus aids?

2. Of the three I mention which one do you use and did you try others and decide on what you currently use as a

result of not liking the others?

Thanks

I have an Acer AL1706b 17" LCD monitor. I realize this is a cheap monitor but it's what I have and won't be able to

buy a better one for awhile. What can I do calibration and/or setting wise to make sure I have it at least set up as

correct as can be for post processing and accurate printing?

Thanks

Lex...thanks for the kind words I appreciate it. Funny thing is when I bought the camera I mainly intended to focus

on landscape and architectural, and still do/will but a funny thing happened when I decided to take the camera along

to my wife's nephew's games. I realized my playing baseball until I was 31 made it perfect for shooting it, hence the

eye for the peak action. Sports in general actually. I just feel perfectly comfortable and confident doing it. Before I

would go home from work and think "where can I go to shoto landscape" and now I'm thinkign where can I go to

shoot sports.Now I am lusting for fast glass and long reach. Haha

You mention the gamma and here is where the lack of PP knowledge comes in. I don't know what that would change

with the pictures but I wil research and figure it out. The problem is I have el cheapo Acer LCD monitor at home that

isn't calibrated and I'm sure it's far from where it needs to be but don't know. I will eventually upgrade. In fact I may

need to start a thread on what can I do to my current monitor to get it set at it's best for what it is.

Went to see a friend's daughter swim and took some shots. Here is an example.<div></div>

Before this thread gets off on the tangent it now appears headed I wanted to say thanks for the replies. I decided to use Flickr based on a few different reasons.

1. I hesitated to use Flickr because one thing that annoyed me with it was the fact you had to have a Yahoo sign in and a Flickr sign in and as someone who works on a computer all day I really get tired of different usernames and passwords for everything I do.

2. I like professional looking, clean sites, which is why I thought of using my gallery here to do it. Honestly I was a little miffed at Lex's comments at first but then I realized the reason PN looks clean is because it isn't fully intended for that. Combined with the fact that I am no professional to some it may look like a snapshot hosting gallery. I don't want that, I'm all for keeping PN as it is. Thank You Lex for being honest.

3. I also realized many of the people viewing the photos will be the 9 and 10 year old players themselves. The fact that PN has the nudes section made me think twice.

4. Shameless request time. If anyone would like to see my snapshots(Haha...just kidding Lex) and give any comments I would love to hear them. Some I PP in Olympus Master 2 and I have much more to learn about PP'ing. As I have a lot to learn about photograghy in general. All shots were taken with Oly E-510 with 40-150 lens. Some shots I had ISO on 200 then realized I needed to crank it up to freeze the action more. Even though most were bright daylight I still went up to 800. Ended up having the EV setting a little high, I was trying to compensate so you coudl see their faces a little more but it ended up too bright in some. Even with the higher ISO and fast shutter speeds they don't seem to be as sharp the more I look at them. Need to tweak some other settings I'm sure but for the first go round I'm fairly happy.

Here is the link:

Thanks.

How many folks here use this site as a site for friends or family to view photos? I have a few questions about it. I

took quite a few photos of my wife's nephew's Little League All-Star tournement and would like to load them into a

gallery and give the link out for the parents of the kids to view the photos. A couple questions I have:

1. How does the maximum file size allowed per photo work with dial-up internet connection in case some still have

that? Will it really bog down for them? Is there anything I can do to make it a little better for the slower connections?

2. What all will they have access to see if I give them a link to just that gallery? (Not that there is anything I don't

want anyone to see. Just curious).

3. I was considering using Flickr for this but I have learned so much on this site that the subscription fee is a no

brainer and the site seems so much "cleaner" than Flickr as in not as many ads and other pop ups and stuff. I know

a lot of people use Flickr and I will eventually sign up for it but for just being able to give a link and have 30 or so

people view it it seems easier to use this site. Am I right?

Thanks for any thoughts.

Just thought I'd post two samples of shots I took with my E510 and 50mm 1.8 OM lens using Fotodiox adapter. I will

eventually get an AF confirm chip but am practicing without it in the meantime. It's not quite as hard as I first thought

and even just after a few times of doing it I find I am getting better at getting it in focus..and quicker. Haha. One

problem I notice is I mess with it too long and start to get shaky and eye gets blurry. I need to keep telling myself

the focus is going to fall within a very small turn area on the ring so get there and get it focused and stop moving the

ring so much. LOL

I'm positng these mainly because while researching which dSLR I was going to buy I had a lot of questions and

found a lot of good info here and want to add what I can for future folks researching.

Anyhow here they are. yes I know the camera is tilted in the one photo. Another problem I have manually focusing is

I spend the time to get it focused and forget to pay attention to the rest of the things that need paid attention to. But

I'm still very new but am taking lots of pics to get better.<div></div>

Thanks Clarence. I must remember 700. I was thinking 1500 for soem reason(size in portfolio I guess).

I'll try again just to test.<div></div>

I bought a Fotodiox adapter to use my OM lenses on my E510 but I think in my excitement to get an adapter I

overlooked the fact that I could get one with an AF confirm chip, i.e. Dandelion chip already installed. I know I have

read on here somewhere about folks gluing the chip into an existing Fotodiox adapeter(or any other brand)

themselves. I have searched and can't seem to find the threads where it was discussed.

Also I have searched E-Bay and can't find Dandelion chip for OM to 4/3's. I e-mailed Fotodiox and they said they

don't have that option.

Am I crazy? Or am I just not looking in the right place?

I would liek to get the chip and install it myself on my Fotodiox adapter instead of spendign the money on a whole

new adapter with the chip in it..of which I can't fins anyhow! Haha

I would like to purchase filters for my E510 that has the 14-42 and 40-150 kit lenses. I also have an OM-1 I still tinker

with now and then. I want to get a circular polarizer, an ND filter and a warming filter. My question is is there a set up

that I could use the same filters for both sizes of lenses(49mm and 58mm)? I don't want to spend an exhorbitant

amount for a whole set up so if it ends up too costly I may just buy piece by piece.

I guess I am basically asking what are my options as far as using the same filters on both lenses?

I would be using the filters for landscapes mainly. The warming filter for portraits occasionally.

I've had my E510 for a month or so now and absolutely love it. It's my first DSLR

so obviously I don't know everything about them and photography in general but I

can say with certainty I am getting comfortable at analyzing photos I see on this

site and others as to better my abilities and I can tell you the E510 and the Oly's

as a whole are as good as the Canon's and Nikons. Easily.

Now that I've got that off my chest I have an actual question. I have shot mostly

outdoors so far but this week I will be wanting to take pics of my wife's niece at

her dance recital. Now I can't shoot during the recital itself so this isn't a question

about shooting in low light with a long lens. My question is regarding the onboard

flash and maybe some tips on when to turn it down. i will want to take some shots

of her before and after the recital. Some in the lobby, some on the stage afterward

and really anywhere I can get a decent background.

Are there any general rules of thumb I can start with like if the person is within a

few feet back it down to it's lowest setting(which only seems logical). Or is it more

of a shoot and adjust kind of thing. I'm not asking if I can work wonders with an

onboard flash I know that's not possible. I just want to get the best shots I can

without blowing highlights or having it look like a white ghost on the screen.

I won't be buying a seperate flash between now and then so that is not an option.

Eventually I will but not now.

I feel flash photography is like black magic only because I don't know anything

about it. I have a lot of reading to do and eventually will but want to get

comfortable outdoors first because that's where I will do most of my shooting.

This may or may not be a silly question but it does have relevence. I've just

started in the photography hobby but even the limited equipment I bought so far

(Olympus E510 being main purchase so far and love it) I reasearched pretty good

before purchasing. So I want to take the same route with my next few

purchases....some lightweight pants for hiking! I love wearing shorts because I get

hot easy but I also get bit up and poison easy too! Even with bug spray I seem too

attract every bug in the area.

Anyhow I just wanted to get some opinions from those who spend a lot of time on

the trail and what clothing you have found to be the coolest and most comfortable

and as always the best all around value.

I live in Pennsylvania and will be doing some hiking/photographing trips to our

cabin in the PA mountains here shortly(and hopefully throughout the summer).

Thanks

I'm going to put my thoughts in here since I just went through the same decision process a few weeks ago. I was looking at the XT, XTi and the Oly e510 and e410. I was looking at those mainly because I have old OM lenses I wanted to use and an adapter is available for both the Canon and Olympus for that usage.

I was completely torn and was back and forth between the Canon and the Oly for weeks...then I went and handled both in the store...the E510 won hands down. The XT felt like a cheap plastic piece of crap. The 510 has a nice rubbery grip, felt so much better in my hand...don't underestimate that. The 410 has the same texture but doesn't have the larger grip the 510 does. Also helping me to decide pretty easily was the quality of the kit lens...again the Canon kit lens, especially the front plastic piece was really terrible I thought...seemed very cheap and the movement of it felt like it was really lose in the main barrel.. The Oly lenses while plastic are much better mechanical quality...and you get two. It was a no brainer.

I've only had it two or three weeks and am an ameteur but the pictures I have taken are of very good quality as far as colors and sharpness. As for the number of available lenses Oly will catch up. The 4/3 system is fairly new so they need time. The used market isn't there yet but since you are just starting the two lens kit from Oly should be plenty for you for now until you figure out what lenses you will want.

You see a lot of brand loyalty when asking this type question and while I have the OM lenses it in no way made me feel like I wanted the Oly over the Canon...I was set on the Canon much more than the Oly until I physically handled them...and then taking into consideration you get two pretty good lenses for the same price the the decision was easy.

Well, it's a 283 model made in Japan so according to the chart David provided it won't work. Bummer. At least I didn't think it would work to start with so it's not a huge let down. Haha

Thanks for the quick answers. Appreciated.