derrickdehaan

<p>Are you now in the U.S.? You are using the proper charger for the household current of the country you are living in? </p>

<p>No problems here!</p>

<p>sorry, double post.</p>

<p>Seems a waste to me. You'll be shooting w/ only one lens on each camera at a time. If what you have now works for you on the 50D, no reason to "upgrade" to great EF-S lenses in my opinion. You have some great glass already.</p>

<p>You hear a lot of folks say that the body doesn't matter...etc, etc. I have a 40D and a 5D mkII. I can easily spot which camera body took which picture. I keep the 40D for sports shooting, but the 5DII w/85L combo blows anything away out of the 40D. For portraiture, get the 5DII. Heck, I even chased a set of 2 year old twins around last yesterday during a shoot. The crop leeway the 5DII provides for such instances is fantastic. Those kids wouldn't hold still long enough to get a great composition in camera.</p>

<p>+2 for Eneloops!</p>

<p>Get the RS-4 from Black Rapid. Very comfy and puts the camera at your side instead of in front. Very quick to use. Then it can be mounted on your lens foot.</p>

<p>I just got my 5DII and a week later got the 85L 1.2 and the 50 1.4. The 85L on the 5DII is like peanut butter and jelly. They make for jaw dropping images. I couldn't be happier with the combo. I still have my 40D as well, but I am sticking with primes on the 5DII. </p>

<p>Use the hood to protect the front of your lens. I own the 600 f/ IS and the front element IS a protection glass. Not sure about yours. however, I get the feeling that you are one of the people that put a protective UV filter on your lenses. In this case, you cannot.</p>

<p>I cannot run 3 of my alienbees in the spare bedroom without blowing the breaker. I can however run 4 of them in the kitchen area. It depends on how your house is wired, i.e. what all is on the same circuit.</p>

<p>Both are fantastic, but I lean towards the 70-200 f/4.0 L</p>

<p>Man, that sucks. Some people suck. Hope this turns out good soon.</p>

<p>You should already have top of the line IQ with the 100 f/2.8. If you are expecting anything sharper than that, you may need to rethink a little.</p>

<p>My 40D recently had the same shutter button issue. Mine left the house, got repaired, and back on my doorstep in 9 days. Its a simple fix.</p>

<p>Here is what my experience has been....<br>

I started with a Sigma 50-500. Although not a "stellar" lens, its ok but slow at f/6.3 which often lead me to high ISO and dropped shutter speeds. Bright sunny days or slow birds, not a problem. I always had the lens racked out to 500mm.....ALWAYS. So, I realized I needed a faster lens and knew I wanted to eliminate the cropping I was doing in post. So I went with a 600 f/4 IS. Now I know this is likely out of budget, but what I am saying is the longer the better for birds. In my opinion, the saleman you spoke to was talking out his rear. Try the Sigma and have fun with it. I use a Gimble head, but that Sigma isn't super heavy. The gimble does allow for easier tracking in flight shots however. Good luck with your purchase, and post your results!</p>

<p>Derrick</p>

 

<p>Personally, I love my alienbees. I own 3 800's and one 400. I would however advise to get more alienbees or more Nikkon flashes. I would not mix the two. This would help to avoid differences in color temperature which is practically impossible to fix in post processing.<br>

Oh, and I would get 800's<br>

Derrick</p>

<p>I absolutely love my 600 f/4 IS! Stick with a prime lens IMHO.</p>

<p>Mine just came back from warrenty repair by Canon. I had the intermittent shutter release. The half press worked fine, but the full press was hit and miss. It also got worse when it was cold outside. Seems a common problem. They knew my issue as soon as I said one sentence over the phone. It took 8 days from when it left my house in Montana until it was back on my doorstep.</p>

<p>A slightly side note....</p>

<p>Have you tried the lens adjustment via the 50D body controls for the 17-55? Just curious.</p>

<p>Derrick</p>

<p>I own the MT-24 EX and loves its capabilities. I use it to also fire my 580 EX II. The twin heads are removable form the lens mounting ring and have threaded inserts in them to allow you to set them up on little tripods and such. Very versitile! If you have any questions regaurding this flash, just ask. Its a great piece of kit. It even allows the hood to be mounted on the lens. (100mm macro anyway) Being able to get the heads further apart and adjust the output ratios allows for great modeling control as well.</p>

<p>Derrick</p>

<p>I own this head, and I am not a fan of it. A "regular" ballhead is better with a more positive lock. Which way do you have the grip oriented? Upright or horizontal?</p>

<p>Derrick</p>

<p>I have the 055MF3 and love it. Its the carbon fiber version with 3 sections. I also have the 322 RC2 Grip ball head and its suitable for lighter setups. I use it indoors for studio type work and a wireless shutter release. I would not want it as my only head. I bought it packaged with my legs for a specific reason. Shooting landscape in Montana in the dead of winter is cold work. The grip allows me to keep a big pair of gloves on my hands at all times. But like I mentioned, I would not want it to be my only head.</p>

<p>Derrick</p>

<p>Good to hear! Most people only post the negatives. I have always had great service with Canon. Nice to see they stand behind their products.</p>

<p>Alienbees are adjustable over a 5 stop range and I think they have the audible alarm too. I know they can be setup to use the model lights as a way to know when they are recharged. </p>

<p>I agree that one wireless trigger is all you will need. Or one cord to fire one flash and the others will fire in slave. </p>

<p>I also agree that mixing brands may not have been a good idea. 3 alienbees would have gotten you the same results plus the ability to swap modifiers between the 3 of them via speedrings.</p>

<p>Derrick</p>