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johng

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Posts posted by johng

    Canon 650IS Settings for Tasting Event on Yacht Cruise

    in Mirrorless Digital Cameras

    Posted

    I normally use dSLR and change exposure and mode settings as the situation or effect I’m looking for dictates. But I’ve got

    a scenario where I can only use a P&S and where others will be using it as well. The P&S I have is the Canon 650IS.

     

    I know no default configuration will handle all scenarios, but I’m looking for suggestions to set the camera as a starting point

    under the following conditions to get better results than just leaving it set to factory settings and use AUTO or Program.

     

    Shooting Conditions:

    -Food/alcohol tasting on a chartered 2 deck yacht for a 3 hour cruise

    -Nighttime

    -Mostly indoors, but could be some outside on deck areas

    -Crowded (300+ people in small space)

    -The camera will be passed to many different people to ‘snap’ photos of their friends, food & spirits, etc. I expect there will

    be people of varying photographic abilities, but most will be on little-to-none level

    -The lighting will significantly vary in different parts of the ship

    -The event will probably be closer to a club/bar scene vs a formal sit-down (no tables other than purveyors of various

    spirits/food)

    -Very dynamic and fast-paced environment

     

    I’m thinking of:

    -Red-eye reduction off (tradeoff to capture spontaneous moments faster)

    -AF Frame Mode set to AiAF (thought about Face Detect, but I believe this slows AF down)

    -IS set to shoot-only (vs continuous) to conserve battery

    -P shooting mode

    -Continuous shooting mode

    -ISO locked at 400 (maybe 800)

    -Metering Mode set to Evaluative

    -White Balance set to AWB

    -Flash set to ON

    -Digital Zoom Off

    -Display Off set to 10 sec (conserve battery)

     

    Other considerations:

    -Shooting mode set to Kids&Pets (it is a very dynamic environment)

    -Shooting mode set to Landscape (for maximum sharpness)

    -Shooting mode set to Indoor (but ISO may auto increase to levels w/ a lot of noise)

    -Use Av and set to f/5.6

    -Use default factory settings and use AUTO or Program

     

    Thanks,

    John

    Photography Magazines

    in Canon EOS Mount

    Posted

    There is also Photo Life (www.photolife.com), published in Canada, which uses fair quality paper/production techniques (although it is no Aperture or LensWork in this regard) compared to the more "pulpier" magazines.

     

    Further, there is Photo Techniques (www.phototechmag.com), formerly Darkroom Techniques I believe, covering film /digital capture techniques as well as traditional/wet and digital darkroom.

     

    --John

    Roadtrip NJ-Nashville

    in Travel

    Posted

    Thanks. I should have mentioned that I visited the Great Smokey Mountains NP and drove the length of Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway in Spring 2002. While all are worth repeating, I want to try something new on this trip.

    Roadtrip NJ-Nashville

    in Travel

    Posted

    I am planning on driving from NJ to Nashville, TN via Lexington, KY

    in late August and am looking for input on places to photograph. I

    have about 10 days to spend and am interested in natural/scenic

    areas, historical locations, architecture, etc. Unfortunately, my

    traveling partner has limited mobility. She can handle short walks

    of a few hundred yards, but hiking is out of the question.

    Therefore, I was thinking of spending most of my time in the

    Nashville area. Beyond the Ryman, Grand Ole Opry, CMA and nearby

    distilleries, can anyone offer other suggestions? Would it be worth

    spending a few days in Memphis as well?

     

    --John

    Insurance for Camera Equipment (None Homeowners)

    in Accessories

    Posted

    Camera equipment insurance is available to US members of the North American Nature Photography Association. General membership is $90/year, but student membership is only $25/year and "includes same benefits as a general member except voting privileges."

     

    The insurance is offered to NANPA members through Rand and costs a minimum of $350/year. More info at <a href="http://www.nanpa.org/insurance.html"> NANPA website.</a>

    <p>

    --John

    Compact digital travel camera for pro recommendations

    in Mirrorless Digital Cameras

    Posted

    I too am looking for a compact digital p&s with similar features. Under certain circumstances taking my kit (or just the dSLR and a lens) is not convenient nor conducive to the circumstances. Sometimes, you just want a small/lightweight camera.

     

    Since I have a Canon 20D, i was looking for somthing that would take my existing CF cards as well as fit in my pocket, and have between 5-7 MP.

     

    Since I do not need a hotshoe, the Canon PowerShot S70 seems a good candidate from a features perspective (CF, 28-100 35mm equiv lens, 7MP, raw). I can't comment from a hands-on perspective as I haven't had a chance to examine one yet. One drawback is the varibale aperature lens range is f/2.8 to f/8.0.

    Dev Time for TMax 100 at EI 800 in Ilfotech DD

    in The Wet Darkroom: Film, Paper & Chemistry

    Posted

    Bradford & Gregory,

     

    I tried your suggestions. The negatives came out pretty thin and flat. I had a hard time even making a contact sheet. Upon review, it looks like some of the frames are solarized. When I print those frames, they do appear to be solarized, a neat effect if that is what your are looking for.

     

    I would consider this little experiment a success even though the results are not very usable (at least not without extensive time trying to print from these negatives). At least I have an idea of what the results might look like if I ever need more than 2 stops and I only have TMax 100 with me.

     

    Thanks for your input.

    Dev Time for TMax 100 at EI 800 in Ilfotech DD

    in The Wet Darkroom: Film, Paper & Chemistry

    Posted

    I have searched the archive, but haven't found the answer to my

    particular situation. Does anyone know what development time to use

    when you push Kodak TMax 100 (35mm format) two stops (IE 800) and you

    are using Ilfotech DD?

     

    I typically use a 1:4 solution at 68 degrees for 7 minutes for TMax

    100 when shot as rated.

     

    The May 2003 Ilfotech DD fact sheet indicates 8.5 minutes at 75

    degrees for TMax 100 exposed at EI 200. Actually, for TMax 100 and

    75 degrees, it seems to start with 6.5 minutes at EI 50 and adds 1

    minute for each additional stop through EI 200, e.g 7.5 at EI 100,

    8.5 at EI 200.

     

    Does this hold true at EI 400 and EI 800, 9.5 and 10.5 minutes at 75

    degrees, respectively?

     

    I do have the option of using FG-7 chemistry, but would prefer to

    stick with the Ilfotech at this point since that is the only

    developer I have used to-date and I have already changed 1 variable

    (i.e. pushed the film).

     

    Any insight would be appreciated.

    20D Quick Control Dial

    in Canon EOS Mount

    Posted

    Mark & Dave,

     

    After reading your replies and reviewing the manual again I now understand how the 20D QCD works and under what curcumstances to set the power switch past "ON". I had mistakenly thought it worked similar to the QCD Switch on my 1V, i.e. that QCD is not enabled at all unless the 1V QCD-dedicated switch is set to on.

     

    Thanks,

     

    John

    20D Quick Control Dial

    in Canon EOS Mount

    Posted

    On the Canon 20D, I do not see a difference with the Quick Control

    Dial when the power switch is set to "ON" or to the line past "ON".

    According to the manual, the Quick Control Dial is only enabled when

    the power switch is set to the line past "ON". Yet, when the power

    switch is set to "ON", the Quick Control Dial works for me when I

    select Menu options, view images in playback mode, change ISO

    setting, etc. Is this normal?

    Help Going Digital: 20D vs Coolscan 5000

    in Mirrorless Digital Cameras

    Posted

    All,

     

    Thanks so much for your input. You have given me some points to consider that I hadn't previously thought of. If I go the 20D route, I won't need to incur the additional expense of CF cards as I already have a 1GB microdrive and a couple of 1GB CFs, albeit not at the ultra fast write speeds, but probably good enough to get me started.

     

    I was leaning towards the 20D route and considering a used/cheaper scanner (e.g. DiMage Elite 5400) at a later date for converting the best shots from my exisiting images.

     

    I think I could get past the 1.6 crop factor of the 20D (although I bought the 16-35/2.8 because I like to shoot wide) as well as only 9 focusing points. But the more I think about it, I may have a hard time adjusting to the 95% viewfinder coverage. I like to crop very tightly in-camera. I am not too crazy about a the lack of a true spot-meter, although I guess 9% partial metering would be good enough for me. Now that I think about it, the lack of a spot-meter may not be that critical as I mainly use it for the Zone system with my B&W stuff and I am not sure how that would work in a digital world. I also heard there may be some compatability issues with the 550EX flash and the 20D. And I think I would need to get the BG-E2 battery grip to balance the feel of the camera with the 700-200/2.8 lens, although I have heard about some issues with the grip not fitting precisely, plus now an added expense beyond my initial budget.

     

    So Now I am leaning towards the 1V/scanner option, plus I have a fridge & freezer full of film. Of course, in an hour I'll change my mind....

    Just how wonky is your 28-135mm IS USM lens?

    in Canon EOS Mount

    Posted

    Maybe I don't understand the the cocept of Zoom Creep or maybe I am not as lucky as the rest of you. I have the 28-135 lens and have little to no creep when I hold the camera/lens parallel to the ground. However, If I am shooting vertically down (toward ground) and have the lens zoomed toward the wide end, the lens creeps all the way toward the telephoto end. If I am shooting vertically up (toward sky) and have the lens at the telepgoto lens, the lens creeps all the way to the wide end. This is a lot more than a few mm and has been a major source of annoyance. If I am shooting subjets that don't move, e.g. still life, I use a piece of gaffers tape to hold the zoom in place. This is the only real issue I have with what is to me a very good walk-around lens given the price.

    Help Going Digital: 20D vs Coolscan 5000

    in Mirrorless Digital Cameras

    Posted

    BTW, I do have both CD and DVD burners as well as laser printer and fax/lo-res scan/print inkjet printer. I would eventually need to get a photo-quality printer, but also expect to use priting services (e.g. Mpix) for the larger prints.

     

    I do have an image library of probably 18,000 pictures (probably modest amount compared to most shooters here). Lately, I have been getting "hi-res" jpeg scans along with my color development. I would expect to eventually scan some of my images, not all of them, but there is no pressing need to convert most of them immeidately.

    Help Going Digital: 20D vs Coolscan 5000

    in Mirrorless Digital Cameras

    Posted

    I shoot color (mostly Porta/UC 160 & 400 of late) and b&w (TMax 100)

    negatives. I have limited access to a b&w darkroom. I do mostly

    travel, landscape/outdoor (nature, scenics, architecture, etc.)

    photography but of late have been experimenting more with what I

    characterize as creative/?fine art? photography.

     

    I am interested in getting more into digital, both in capture and

    post-exposure. I have a computer and a still shrink-wrapped version

    of PS 6.0.

     

    My current kit consists of Canon EOS 1V, 550EX, 16-35/2.8L, 28-

    135/3.5-5.6 IS, 70-200/2.8L (non-IS), EF 2x Extender. I love the

    feel and build of the 1V. I would love to get a dSLR equivalent of

    the 1V, but that is out of my price range. I am not overly thrilled

    with the idea of a 1.6 crop factor of the 10D/20D.

     

    While I know I need to make the best decision for me, I would like

    some input. Given a budget of $1500, would it make more sense to get

    a film scanner (e.g. Nikon Coolscan 5000 ED) and upgrade to PS CS or

    get the Canon 20D body?

     

    If I go the scanner route, I continue to use the 1V and don?t have to

    deal with a crop factor. This would allow me to get into digital

    post-processing now and wait for a more affordable/less-crop-factor

    camera in the future. Of course, I still have all the costs

    associated with film development. If I get the 20D, I am getting

    into digital capture immediately and can leverage my existing kit,

    but I have a crop factor of 1.6. Also, while there are many posts

    praising the build of the 20D, to me it felt like it was more plastic

    and cheaper build quality (albeit I only had it in my hands for 10

    minutes).

    Homosassa - Cedar Key (Florida) Shooting Suggestions

    in Travel

    Posted

    You can find more info on the area at:

    <a href="http://www.floridastateparks.org/homosassasprings/"> Official Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park Web Page</font></a>

    or

    <a href="http://www.floridastateparks.org/parkbrochures/HomosassaSprings-Brochure.pdf"> Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park Brochure</font></a>

    or

    <a href="http://www.homosassasprings.org/"> Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park "Web Gateway"</font></a>

     

    <p>

    For info on the area you can try

    <a

    href="http://www.citruscounty-fl.com"> The Citrus County Website</font></a>

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