jason_inskeep

<p>I have a pentax k1000, Canon 1N, and an A2. I use them becuase I want to. I like the look of film, especially slides. I also like the look I get out of my pentax lenses. The are just a bit different than the Canon lenses. It's fun.</p>

<p>I may have to spend a bit more time on ebay... i only seem to be able to find the 3 for 250+ dollars or close too it. i really wanted a 3 or a 1n as the 1v is out of the question. i like to shoot a bit of film every once in a while but not enough to make that kind of investment in it. i have, been curious about the elan but i haven't quite decided whether or not i like the 1/125 th of a sec flash sync and no pc terminal. I still use a cable with my lights so...</p>

<p>Thank you. I'll probably end up getting another A2 as much as I would love to have a 3 or 1V, both are signifcantly more than I willing to spend right now. The A2, however, is still pretty affordable.</p>

sorry, computer problems.

i am interested in the differences in metering and auto focus speed/ accuracy.

any thoughts are appreciated.

thank you!

<p>is there any reason why i shouldn't? I am really interested in auto focus and meter

<p>I use the lens hoods on my canon gear all the time, some times the lens hood isn't even enough and i end up using my hand or my hat or something to keep the lens flare down. I have noticed that it does make a huge difference in some of the pictures that i take with my pentax k1000, I have no hoods for any of those lenses and shading the lens with my hand or a hat helps the contrast quite a bit in some situations. Mainly when the sun is at any angle that can bounce around in the lens.</p>

<p>I have been considering a cheapish set of hot lights like a set of the smith victor thrify or photoflex first studio portrait kit. I have no experience in studio lighting and i would like to have a cheap alternative to the rather costly strobes that in all reallity i dont know if i will use that much.<br>

My questions are:<br>

does any one have any experience with either of these light kits? the seem to have decent reveiws for the most part.<br>

I get the idea that the tungsten lights that come in the units are pretty hot and would be a potential fire hazard as well as just being plain uncomfortabe to sit under. The bulb base is listed as an E26 edison screw mount bulb, which i believe is a standard household bulb... Is that the case? If it is can that bulb be replaced by say a household florescent with the same base?<br>

thank you for any advise.</p>

 

<p>24 2.8 and 50 1.4.</p>

<p>Ralph, I see where you are comming from. You do raise a good point about getting the right things changed. I also agree that there is possibly no good reason for them not allowing access to the site for journalists such as yourself. Public access, if for no other reason than to keep people out of the way, should be restricted if necessary. <br />Yes, so many people have died in the creation and continued protection of our contry- among other thigns- to allow for and hold up these freedoms which seem to be dwindling away from us.<br>

As for the authority issue in question, it's honnestly a hard call when you look at it through different eyes. Again, I am not a fan of every thing done by our government. Not even remotely saying that you are one of these people, but the majority of American's, civilian or not, can't even follow traffic laws every day. I have definitely found that there is a certain amount of "blind' or misguided questioning and challenging of authority in our contry. That being said, unless they are restricting your access for the purpose of making the clean up more efficient then it its very likely out of line.</p>

<p>At the risk of being stoned here, as much as I hate to say it, let the USCG do their job. IF they say no, that needs to be the end of it. I am a member of the military, I don't always understand their ways either. There is nothing you can do about it. Like it or not, just like police or other government officials, they have the authority do what they deem necessary if they are given that authority by their superiors ( in this case that admiral works for the president). No, it doesn't make sense. Yes you would like to change it. Just let those guys do what they have to do.</p>

<p>That all lhappens to be something that I have thought of as well, you have to be able to just do a job. It seems here in the photography community that one can not just do a job and be happy, they would have to this intense emotional and artistic experience with it. To some extent I am very much ok with having a job to do and trying to do what some one wants, that has been my goal for so long in all my other work.</p>

 

<p>I hope this is the right forum to post this question in... Keep in mind that I am not as bright as most of the rest of you, but I will try to keep up.<br>

I was having a conversation with a friend, mentor may be a better term, about being emotionally attached to your work and how that could cause problems with your execution of it.<br>

I am not a proffesional photographer, however, I love photography and take learning about it seriously. I sincerely wish that I could create something that really hit home, something that really had some emotional value to it, that would capture some ones attention. I don't think I have produced anything like that, ever.<br>

The point is, I was picked up a while ago for a graduation ceremony shoot. I did the work, felt horrible about it and sold quite a bit of it anyway. I also had a blast. I could really see getting into that type of work, even though it's not your event its something you can relate to. My friend was talking to me about my work on that occasion and photography in general and told me that I had no direction. When I said you know, I would really like to get more into event photography he said that I was too emotionaly attached to the work and would be better off not pursuing more work in that area.<br>

If you, as a creative proffessional, are supposed to create something that sparks some type of emotion from another person, how can you be "too emotionaly attached" to it? Wouldn't one have to be?</p>

<p>The 5D is pretty awesome for the most part. I was in the same boat you are, I have a beloved A2 and a 30D as well as an elderly 10D. The 30D just wasn't doing it for the wide angle stuff I like so the 5D was a great choice. I dont personally see that much difference between it and the 30D as far as image quality though, they are almost identical in most situations, I have heard the 20D is about the same.</p>

 

<p>Along with what William said, I would recommend googling "the ultimate exposure calculator", its really just the sunny f/16 rule but expanded on quite a bit. With a bit of practice you can judge exposure for almost any situation you have experience with. It's not perfect but it can get you in the ball park most of the time.<br>

For lighting ratios and how things like that effect your images I would recommend looking at "light, the science and magic", a very good slightly boring book on studio lighting. "Sculpting with light" is another good book that can show you how to make lighting adjustments and how different scenarios will affect your image. For the most part they are both geared towards studio work but can be applied to shots like this as well, puting more light in one place than another will affect how attention is drawn to it, etc... how to seperate subjects from backgrounds...<br>

The zone system is a really good study, I personally haven't found it to be as effective in this type of photography other than looking at what you want to be that zone V and puting your meter on it or to check the contrast range of your shot. It's a slow process that doesn't lend itself all that well to events, at least I cant do it that quickly. It's also really meant to be used with the final processing involved more often than not.</p>

<p>this is a section of the stairs and the people in crowd at 100%. they are in better focus i think but still not quite perfect.<br>

i do agree that with a bit of sharpening the print may look quite a bit better. i hadn't applied any sharpnening becuase my printer has suggested not doing that till we get together to actually print it at a certain size and on a certain media. but i do agree that it looks better.<br>

1/45th hand held is pushing it i know... i was in an awkward situation, still am, my tripod and some of my lenses are still in the middle east! so that has been a disaster. i borrowed own from a friend but his was a bit of a pain to use and use quickly so it didn't get used at all. the school wanted the shots but they didn't seem to want the shots really set up and controlled by me, they just said i could go any where i wanted to get them and they would take care of the rest.<br>

the 24 2.8 isn't the best lens. it does have a b+w filter on it, both those things could cuase some issues as well, but i know i have been able to get some really sharp results from this lens with the filter on, i think even at larger apertures.<br>

thank you all again.<br>

so use a tripod and a smaller aperture for the shot next time? or get closer and use lights?</p><div></div>

<p>the above picture is what i was refering too... just a lack of detail. the school wanted these shots and it just didn't work unless they plan on using them no bigger than what i put up for the original picture i posted! they are an utter waste. but how would you go about keeping this from happening in the future if you were a young and inexperienced rookie like my self?</p>

<p>a UV filter?<br>

i am not sure that i have the UV varieties on my lenses i believe they are just the "clear protective" sort.<br>

is that an issue as well?</p><div></div>

<p>there is quite a lack of sharpness in the student area... i had the camera focused on them... still a major lack of datail.</p>

<p>thank you to all who have answered...<br>

i was using a 5D for most of the ceremony, occasionally a 30D. the choice of lenses i agree was not the best but my 70-200 is currently in the middle east due to a rather awkward situation. i had 8 hours to prepare for the shoot and i couldn't even get in the building more than an hour before the whole thing took place. i was definitely the last minute photographer, the original guy bailed more than likely because it seems he may not have gotten paid to do the work.<br>

i did try dragging the shutter a bit, i usually have good luck with this, have done it quite a bit, not so much this time. between over exposure and for some reason a lot of blurr i had better luck with the flash off the camera totally... i dont really know why but did. the only other thing i did notice was with a 24mm lens my E-TTL flash was saying that the focal length was 14mm, not sure what was up with that and i will have to figure that out.<br>

i asked about what i was allowed to do and was given permission to " go were ever you need to go to get the shot", i dont shoot these types of things so... i was pretty much up on sage with a 50mm, not really the best place in the world but...<br>

i am going to try and post a picture that i seemed to be having a lot of problems with... its a long distance shot...</p><div></div>

<p>David,<br>

So really just crank up the flash and keep the black back ground, that would be the right way to go in the future? I am pretty new to this type of photography and wasn't sure if that was acceptable! If it is then I am glad to support it.<br>

Unfortunately at the moment I do not have the equipment to put out more lights. Untill very recently I was very much into available light only photography.<br>

So in auditoriums and churches how do you usually set up your cameras and on camera flashes?</p>

<p>I did try setting a good exposure for the back ground as well... the problem ended up being that the spot light was so bright that the for ground ended up being just a touch over exposed with or with out flash, flash did seem to make it worse though.</p>

 

<p>I was recently asked to shoot for a fairly large social event, more specifically a high school graduation. It was a last minute thing, the original photographer bailed and they needed some one who could fill the bill. This is not my normal type of shooting. I really did enjoy the whole process and wouldn't mind doing more of it if I got the opportunity but... There are a couple of issues!<br>

First the coordinator of the event wanted a wide angle shot of a stage full of students at the end of the ceremony. every thing seems to be sharp except the students!<br>

The second problem is kind of the same as the first, I have some fairly fast glass; 24 2.8, 50 1.4, 20-35 2.8, and I was shooting at a fairly high ISO ( between 800 and 1600) in an auditorium. How do you shoot in these situations?<br>

Lastly, a friend of mine suggested that I " put the flash in E-TTL, put the camera in Program mode, and stay no more than 20 ft away... ". Tried that in some test shots on stage before the ceremony started and due to the spot lights I was having a problem keeping the subject from getting way over exposed, I even put the flash down 3 stops, and the back ground turning totally black. The other problem I was having was never being able to get the camera to focus on the subject. P mode sugested 1/60th at f/4 and every time I fired off a test shot I got a black background, almost white subject ( in the face at least) and a lot of motion blur. I took the flash off, put the camera in manual, set it at 1/50th and 2.8 and all the sudden all my problems went away, at least mostly, for that part of the shoot. Is there something that I may not be doing right with my flash?<br>

I guess there is actually one more thing, how do you compete with other peoples flash and guys who are doing the stage lighting? It seemed like the stage ligting wasn't consistant all the time, I know it wont neccessarily be across the stage but shooting at the same spot and from the same spot with the same camera setting for every shot should get about the same results for every shot. I also had a problem with parents shooting in the back ground with every thing from point and shoots to slr's with flash guns in the back ground and that ruined a few shots. Is there any good way to make up for these types of problems?</p>

<p>"the program you are using to open it..."<br>

on that note i would imagine that ellements 6 probably wont be able to open images from the new 5d mk II is that true?<br>

does any one have any idea how many shutter actuations these are good for?</p>

 

<p>This may be a silly question but...<br>

I have been searching for a camera with a bigger sensor. My current lenses were bought specifically for a 35 mm camera and I am very happy with them on a 35mm! Not so happy with them on the APS-C size sensors however. I have tried to make due with these for a few years now and I just really miss my 24mm and my 20-35L on my A2. I also miss the view finder you get with the 35mm format. I just haven't been able to find any of the 10-20mm varieties of lenses that suit my fancy as I really prefer the 2.8 wide aperture that I get with my 20-35. <br>

With all that in mind I have been seriously considering the new 5D MKII but the cost is a bit higher tahn i would really like. The 1d mk III is coming down in price and to me seems like it would be a bit better for 700 dollars less. I dont really need the 21mp, they would be nice, my wife likes to print things the size of my walls! The 1.3 crop factor of the 1d doesn't put me in a whole lot better position than puting a 17-50 2.8 on a 1.6x body though. the 1ds is just a bit out of my price range still.<br>

All that said, does any one know if i could expect 5D to be compatible with newer computers and operating systems? I was considering the 1d and 1ds but have noticed that some people are having a hard time, with the 1d at least, on vista. That would make me think that there is a possibility that I could have the same problem in a few years with another older camera such as a 5D and my old 10D if i were to upgrade operating systems in the next few years. IF i were to buy a 5D could i expect it to be useable for 5-6 more years! or would i be better off with a MK II, would the 1d mk III be better in this regard?</p>

<p>For what little its worth I tend to favor using a 24mm and a 50mm lately. I find that it works a bit better for me most of the time. i would rather have a wider prime and the 50, this covers a lot of what i like to shoot and i find that it can be very user friendly compared to hauling around huge zooms.</p>