victor_ng2
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Posts posted by victor_ng2
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Hello everyone!
When it comes to picture details, I am very picky! I have a 4K TV and thinking about buying a 32" computer monitor to use editing pictures. I have heard/read from other people saying that computer monitors gives better details, clarity, and truer color than TV. Please advise, thanks!
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What do I use this camera for? Well, pretty much anything and everything from family photos to sport to landscaping photography in hot, dry, wet, cold environments, from day and night photography as well. At night, I usually love to take star trail and northern pictures. Thanks!
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Hi,
I need to buy a new full frame camera, and my final choices are Canon 5D Mark 3 or Canon 6D Mark 2. Each has pros and cons, and I'm torn & I need your help/opinion!
5D Mark 3:
Pros:
- Uses the same battery/charger with my 7D
- Magnesium-alloy body (which is essential in extreme weather)
- Uses compact flash card instead of SD card
- Has 61 AF points
Cons:
- Lower native ISO 100-25,600
- Lower resolution
- Older technologies
6D Mark 2:
Pros:
- Has higher resolution
- Native ISO 100-40,000 (which is essential in night photography)
- Has a flip out screen
- Newer technologies
Cons:
- Not magnesium-alloy body
- Uses SD card
- I don't like to buy/bring another charger, memory card, and battery when I go on the trips
- Has 45 AF points
Please advise guys! Thanks!
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Hello everyone,
I'm in the market to buy a used lens (on line) and I really want to know how old of the lens (to estimate/guess how much the lens had been used), how do I do that? Can I used the serial number on the lens, is there any place/website that I can plug that number in and it'll tell me? If not, how? Thanks!
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Just like almost everything, there’s ranking: worst, bad, good, better, best. Likewise in photography, when you look at a picture, you can tell this picture is taken by someone that doesn’t know a lot about photography, someone that knows rules of photography, or by professionals, etc.. Yet, a lot of times, a lot of famous pictures that won many prestigious prizes internationally look just alright to many people, even after hearing the authors explain about their pictures.
Composition, light, colors, motion, meaning of the picture, etc., are among many important things of a great picture. But let say if two similar pictures meet/exceed all of these points but picture A won the prize because it has brighter color, the winding river in the picture conveys curve of a lady beautifully, etc., for example. What if the photographer of picture B likes darker color, it shows secrecy, and the winding river shows life is a lot tougher that it looks, not always a straight line, for example. Not all people are so “poetic” to look at a winding river as the curve of a lady. Not all people look at life as tough as a winding river.
I read a lot of books, I attend a lot of seminars, I look at a lot of pictures from famous people in respected magazines, my reaction to many of those pictures is “really”! Is it because it’s captured by world renowned photographers, is it because he/she is famous in that category before, and/or etc.?
I don’t mean to discredit those famous pictures/photographers/magazines, or worse, my pictures are better. If those pictures won those prestigious prizes, they went through many different & difficult processes, they must have something special. My question here is what does it take, what are special elements in a picture to help it win prestigious prizes internationally like that? What is/are their “secret sauce(s)”? I’d like to know to learn more, to improve my skills, and hopefully, win some prizes in the future! Thanks!
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<p>Hi,<br>
When I take the landscape pictures, if I want everything look sharp from near to far, I always set the camera to the smallest aperture that's available on the lens that I'm using. Yet, recently, I hear/read these two new options/opinions and I'd like to ask your inputs about them.<br>
1) Set the lens to infinitive & then manually focus the lens to the sharpest level, then take the picture.<br>
2) Set the aperture 3 levels from the biggest aperture of your lens, and this will give sharpest picture all around. If your lens has a F2.8 aperture as the biggest aperture, for example, then in order to capture the sharpest picture near to far with this lens would be F8.</p>
<p>Has any of you tried these two methods and what's your results? I haven't had a chance to try them but I personally don't think option 2 is a right/good choice. I tried the first option in the past when I was taking star trails at night only, never tried in the day light.</p>
<p>Which one is the correct one? Please let me know. Thanks!</p>
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<p >Hi,</p>
<p >I’m a Canon user. I have a question about how, what’s the best method to focus quickly on a subject to take a great picture at my own choosing, and not to rely on the lucky automatic focus.</p>
<p >My camera has 9 focus points in the viewfinder. Of course as we all know, most of the time, human/animal eyes are the focus points. If I take a portrait picture for someone, I easily select a focus point by manually turning the wheel to change the focus point to the nearest point to the eyes of that person, focus and recompose. Or I simply activate the center focus point, focus it to the eyes of that person & recompose. I here, however, want to ask about how to get a sharp focus on subject’s eyes in fast actions, birds, for example.</p>
<p >Let say a bird is running/flying around different angles/directions try to catch a fish, or two birds are fighting at each other, or two birds are fighting for the same meal/fish, what’s the best focus method should I use to get the eye(s) in sharpest focus when these birds are moving so fast to different directions, angles, constantly & quickly changing distance from you? It’s impossible to have enough time to select a focus point in camera, focus & recompose, and most of all, birds’ eyes are very small. And if I let the lens/camera does the focus, 9.9 out of 10, it focuses to the wrong spots. I know I won’t be able to get 10 out of 10, but at least, it shouldn’t be 0.1 rate of success like that. Please advise. Thanks.</p>
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<p>Hi,<br>
I'd like to ask you about calibrating the camera lens. I've read some articles about it but I'm not quite understand, please help me out.<br>
First and foremost, what is calibrating the lens? Do we really need to do that on new, quite advanced technology nowaday lens? What's the benefit of doing that vs. not doing that? Is there a "clear" different result between doing that and not doing that? If yes, please show me. I've never done this before, please show me in detail. Thanks!</p>
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<p>Hi,<br>
I love taking pictures of all kind of birds and now, in my area, is the migration season of hummingbird. They're cute but they are fast and small, very hard to get a nice clean picture. So, I'm thinking about buying a motion trigger to increase my luck! Here is an example of what I found:<br>
<p>Please let me know what do you think about this? If you know a better devise, please let me know. Thanks.</p>
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<p>Hi,<br>
I'm looking for a new tripod that's light but able support fairly heavy weight for my lens & camera. Of course, carbon fiber, but they're very expensive. I accidentally came across Aluminum Alloy & Magnesium Alloy "3 legged thing" brand tripod, for example:<br>
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/903238-REG/3_Legged_Thing_3lttony_3LT_X5A_Tony.html<br>
<p>I'd like to have 3 questions:<br>
1) Has anyone heard/used the "3 legged thing" brand tripod before? Please share your thoughts/experiences.<br>
2) Isn't it "too good to be true" with just 2-3lbs tripod that can support 26lbs+ load?<br>
3) I know Manfrotto is Italy's, Slik is Janpan's, etc., where's the original country of 3 legged thing tripod?</p>
<p>I've been using Manfrotto & Slik for years. I love and I trust their qualities completely. It's just that they're expensive. Seeing this 3 legged thing tripod, very light, support big load, and fairly cheap price, I'm thinking.... Please share your thoughts/experiences. Thanks.</p>
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<p>Generally, in order to get a clear picture, as many of us know the rule-of-thump for setting the speed: 1/focal length of the lens. This works quite well with me especially when I use speed priority mode. However, in a not well lit area, if I want to take a fast moving subject with my long prime lens Canon F4 400mm lens, for example, if I use this setting, I won't get any good sharp picture at all. I tried to switch to aperture priority & set it to F21, for example, I have a few good pictures.</p>
<p>So my question is that is there a rule of thump for setting aperture in association with the focal length of the lens like what we have for speed setting? Thanks!</p>
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<p>Hi,<br>
I am a Canon user & I need a long lens for wild life photography. Of course L lens is good but out of my reach for the money. I'm thinking about buying Sigma 120-300mm F2.8 w/ 2.0 lens extender vs. Tamron 150-600mm, and I have 3 questions:<br>
1) Regardless of anything else, between Sigma 120-300 with 2.0 lens extender & Tamron 150-600 lens, which one will give you a better quality picture?</p>
<p>2) Regard everything, including the weight which Sigma is a lot heavier than Tamron (7lbs vs. 4lbs), which one is a better choice?</p>
<p>3) Besides Sigma's heavy weight, honestly, I like Sigma more because the lens stays @ a fixed length when you zoom in & out vs. Tamron will be longer when you zoom in. This prevents dirt get into your lens significantly. How about you, what do you think?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
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<p>Hello,<br>
<br /> I need your opinion about the Opteka 650-1300mm lens. Have you ever used and/or heard anything about it, I mean about this brand and the quality of the picture that you get from using this lens in comparing with Canon’s lenses? From comments that I read on amazon, looks like this lens is quite decent:<br>
<br /> The reason I ask you about this is because I want to take a picture of the whooping crane and they usually stay at least about 3/4 to 1 mile away from you. I have a 400mm prime lens and this is nothing! The whopping crane is just a small object on the picture, even with extender attached, it’s just ok. And if the bird is at 1 mile or farther, I will not be able to see/find the bird with the 400mm lens.<br>
<br /> Of course there’re longer Canon’s lenses out there but the price is way above the roof, and even if I were able to afford the longest Canon lens (800mm, I believe), still, I believe it won’t be enough to reach to this bird.<br /> So, I have 3 questions to ask for your advice if you’ve used or known about this Opteka 650-1300mm lens:<br>
<br /> a) What’s the quality of the picture that you get from this lens in comparing with Canon’s lenses?<br>
b) In technology, most of the time, you get for what you pay, I agree. This lens costs $245 vs. thousands on Canon’s lenses. It’s even cheaper than a Canon’s lens extender. However, after reading comments on amazon & seeing some sample pictures, what do you think? And is it correct that I have to buy its T-mount adaptor in order to attach this lens to Canon’s body camera?<br>
c) What is the alternate solution that you’d do for taking a picture at that far distance and you only have a 400mm lens?<br /> Thanks a lot for your time and advices. Happy holidays!</p>
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<p>Thanks for all of your advises!<br>
My question is generally for any low light environment.<br>
To be more specific for my immediate needs, at work, I sometimes have to take pictures of speakers at a big giant auditorium. The ceiling & the room is way too high & way too big for bouncing light. And most of the time (99%), the room is packed, so getting close to the subject isn't an obtion for direct flash.<br>
My second need is to take graduation pictures for couple of my friends' kids. I'm sure you know how big those stadiums are, flash isn't the option here, again, and I have to sit far away.<br>
As it is new for me, I don't expect "perfection" but at least good looking pictures. Any advises is greatly appreciated!</p>
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<p>Hi,<br>
I want to learn great techniques of taking pictures in low light environments. Places like auditoriums, stages, stadiums, etc, where you have to sit far away, and/or the place is so big that using flash (either bouncing or direct flash techniques) won't work. Do you know any good web-sites, books, etc, that teach about this?<br>
I search many books, and of course, they all say good things about them, hard to choose the right one. Thanks.</p>
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<p>Thanks very much for your advises!<br>
I also read from some blogs on the web that recommend to buy a plastic storage box that is watertight/air-tight seal type, put my equipments in there with the moisture absorber. And before I close the lid, use the vacume cleaner to suck out all the air as much as possible, then quickly close it tight. What do you think? Thanks.</p>
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<p>Hi,<br>
I have two digital cameras and 4 lens. I always keep them in my photography backpack (with zipper & dividers inside - not the hard case). My house always have air conditioner/heater turned on, depending on the season. I don't use my equipments about once a month, or once in every two months, averagely.<br>
So, would you show me how to keep my equipments off from moisture effectively? I heard about those gell beans, but I'm kind of lazy to re-heat them, PLUS I've heard it's not very effective. Please advise. Thanks.</p>
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<p>Hello,<br>
I've had the Canon 28-300 IS L lens for about 2 years, love it! Its' image stabilizer function works smoothly & quiet, even in a quiet room & I put my ears right next to it & I barely hear anything.<br>
Now, just last week, I order the Canon 400mm DO prime lens. I just have a chance to play with it. Everything is fine except when I turn on the image stabilizer function, when i press down the shutter, i hear quite some noise. It's a lot noisier than my 28-300 IS L lens. I test both in my closed door room, I barely hear anything from the 28-300mm lens, but the 400mm prime lens. I don't have to put my ears right next to it, but it's quite noisy! When I turn off the image stabilizer function, it's quiet like every other internal focus lens. When I use it outside with all noise around us (like every other places), I bearely hear anything.<br>
So, i'd like to ask you this question. Since this 400mm lens is my very first prime lens & the longest focal lens that I have, I think it might be because the constrution of the prime lens is different with the zoon lens that I have, and since it's bigger, longer, it has a lot heavier glasses inside, that's why it has louder noise when the image stabilizer is turned on to "move" those parts inside? What do you think? Any of you have experienced this and/or known/heard this before? Thanks.</p>
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<p>Hi,<br>
I’ve been using ExpoDisc filter to customize the white balance on my camera. I love it, it’s very accurate. All my lenses are 77mm size and so I bought the 77mm ExpoDisc size. Until last week, I just bought a Canon 400mm prime lens (it’s on the way) which has humongous front. So here is my question: once I have this lens, how/what do I use to customize the white balance? Please note that after buying this new lens, my money is very low now, and in fact, I hate to have another thing in my camera bag, which is very heavy now already! :-)<br>
Thanks.</p>
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<p>Hi,</p>
<p>I have a Canon 5D w/ a wide angle lens. I'd like to take some panaramic pictures but don't know how. I've heard I've to take series of pictures and use software to stich them together.<br>
My questions are:<br>
1) What's the technique, what do I have to do when taking those pictures so that when I line up those pitures, they look "continously"?<br>
2) What's the software that I can use to stich those pictures?<br>
3) What web-site would be best to have them print panoramic pictures?</p>
<p>Thannks.</p>
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<p>Hi,<br>
I've had a Canon 580EX II flashlight and looking for some good sources that show me how to operate it effectively, like when to use this/that function, under this/that condition, output needs to be increased/decreased, etc. The manual that comes with it doesn't offer much. I see many books and of course, they all say good things about their books. Anything that you can recommend me to read? Thanks.</p>
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<p>Hi,<br>
I heard a lot about "arca swiss quick release plate", but who is Arca Swiss? I know they make great ballhead, but are they really that good? How about them vs. Kirk, and Really Right Stuff, and Acratech? They look very similar Kirk. Do you know Arca Swiss' official website? Are they a Swiss or an USA company? Thanks!</p>
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<p>Many thanks to all of your advises!</p>
<p>Steve, you mentioned about setting the sensitivity of the focus, and the speed of focus in the camera via custom function menus. How do you do that? Would you elaborate more? Thanks.</p>
Northern light & bald eagle in Alaska
in Casual Photo Conversations
Posted
Hello everyone!
I plan to have a trip to Fairbank, AK and Holmer, AK in this coming Dec-Jan time mainly to take picture of northern light and bald eagle, and I need your help/advise to be able to take lots of beautiful pictures.
1) Northern light:
Is Dec-Jan the right time to see a lot of northern light in Fairbank? Where is/are the best locations to take northern light pictures (with beautiful foreground and background or with a reflection on a water front, etc.)?
Besides northern light in Fairbank, what else is there to take picture there during this time of the year
2) Bald eagle:
I know there're less bald eagle in winter than in summer in Holmer but I see lots of bald eagle pictures taken in winter in Holmer during the winter time. PLEASE let me know where would be the best spots to have highest opportunity to see and take good pictures of them.
Thanks a lot everyone!