joseph_brown7

<p>My company was recently approached by a design firm and asked to take an image that will be displayed at 4'x76', across a panoramic window. They want the file to be 300dpi, and half tone. The subject matter will be an action shot of rowers, so doing a panoramic is not an option. Is there a interpolation software that can do this? We use a 24mp DSLR. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!</p>

 

<p>Long, my rule of thumb is to buy a bag 1 size larger than think you need. This gives you flexibility to reconfigure your gear if you need to carry more stuff. I am not sure if the 7mdh is able to handle 2 bodies with lens attached but that is a make or break in my book. My advise would be to get the 8mdh and have a little space if you ever purchase a 2nd body or another lens ect.</p>

<p>Personally I only take the cameras with there grips loaded w/2 batteries. I have never burned through 2 batteries during a wedding and I shoot a lot of frames, between 1000-1200 for a full day. When I come home my d700 which gets used 75% of the time has 0% left on one battery and 70-80% on the other. and the d300 will have 40-50% on one and 100% on the other.<br>

To answer you question on the battery grip, It will not matter if you get it or not, X amount of batteries will give you X amount of shots. Where the grip comes in play is that your battery changeover will be seamless and you will have no need to stop and change the battery. Most grips also give you the vertical shutter option for portraits and alot even have shutter/aperture dials and ev/focus lock buttons. If you shoot longer lens it also helps to balance the weight of the lens. They are a worth while investment if you don't mind the weight and bulk they add.</p>

<p>Ray, I would check out the Powerex 8 cell charger, I have two and they work phenominally. There are two models one is a little more than the other, Go for the more expensive model it will cycle the batts in like 2 hours on a soft charge. If I were in your shoes I would stick with Eneloops, I've had powerex 2700s and while they preform great you cant beat the Eneloop for its ability to hold a charge. I have also found the Kingston Elite CF cards to be very good for the price. You can find them between $20-30 per 8gb card. In my experience they do write on the slow side but I never run into any buffer problems and I shoot raw 100% of the time. Also it is important to keep spare batteries and cards on you all the time, there are a few brands of card cases out now that work great - Think Tank's pixel pocket rocket is a good one as it is tethered to you via a small lanyard.</p>

<p>For the ceremony I usually will be in the center aisle to start and then move to the right and left as much as possible during the down time in the ceremony. You will need to gauge when the ring exchange is gonna happen and be front and center for that as well as the first kiss. When the bride enters I usually take center aisle but stay back near the alter and use a 70-200 for the first couple of shots then switch to 24-70 as she approaches. I have seen many photographers come up to the bride and then back step with her all the way to the alter, IMHO that is not the best way for a number of reasons 1- Your in the way and making a specticale of yourself 2- there is always a chance that you could take a spill and ruin her entrance (the runners they put down are sometimes slippery on marble floors) 3- I love to get a view over the grooms sholder when she enters this would not be possible if you are walking w/ the bride. Any other question I would be happy to help!</p>

<p>It sounds like your set! I would use the d300 w/17-50 and sb900 the d200 w/ 80-200 and sb600, keep the d40 in the car as a back up. The primes can go in the bag as well if you expect a low light situation. Just make sure you have plenty of memory(like 30-40gb if you shoot raw) and more AA batteries than you think you will ever need. If you are comfortable with off camera lighting then go for it, just remember that a wedding is not the best time to work things out. Good Luck!</p>

<p>Neil - Thanks, I like the Nikkor version as well. I may get that as I found one used for 750 dollars. Have you tried the sigma? I was not aware that it had been released yet.</p>

<p>I have been drooling over the new 85 that sigma is releasing (or the nikkor for that matter) lately but I am having problems justifying buying it. My plan is to use the 85 when I have control over where I am in relation to my subjects during the ceremony, For portraits obviously, available light and as a short tele for receptions. My problem is that I already have a 70-200 which I love and will never get rid of. I want to hear from others who use both, Do you get alot of use out of it? How and when are you using it? And finally, do you see a big enough difference in you portraits to switch from the 70-200 during a session? FWIW If I bought the lens I would shoot it Wide open or close to it all the time. BTW cameras are d300 and d700. Thanks!</p>

<p>I do as Michael C. Does, Bring a cloth or papertowel to wipe the sweat off and keep drinking water. One thing that you should remember if you wear black is not to eat salty foods the week before the wedding, this will stop those imbarassing white sweat stains on your clothes.</p>

<p>Millers does a great job for me. As john mentioned MPIX is the consumer version of Millers Labs.</p>

<p>I would use DeOxIt contact cleaner. I will typically clean my contacts and hotshoe with it every few months. It is 10 bucks or so at any Radioshack or the like.</p>

<p>After breaking one of my light stands by bracing it from one of the legs supports with my foot on a windy day it broke! When I bought the stands I knew they were not the best quality (they are Adorama 12' air cushioned) but upon arrival all the bracing and hardware was made of cheap plastic. I use Manfrotto 3361 stands at the commercial studio I work for but they cost a ton and IMHO are overkill for a sb800 speedlite. Any thoughts on a solid but reasonably priced stand 8-12' with metal hardware? I have heard good things about avenger products, anybody use them? Thanks!</p>

<p>Janne, Thanks I will check that out!</p>

<p>Matt, You have pretty much narrowed down why I want this lens. The IQ from the 50 1.4 and 70-200 2.8 IMO are stellar and I cant justify spending 1200 bucks on a relitivly old Nikkor. I plan to alternate this lens with my 70-200 on my long body in wedding situations. I will shoot the ceremony with the 70-200 and switch out for the 85 during the formal portraits were I have more flexibility to move around. But still any idea when? Thanks to all!</p>

<p>Hello all, I am wondering if anyone has a idea of when we can expect to see the 85 1.4 in stores? I really am looking forward to picking up one but it seems that they are late on the delivery as Sigma has this lens due in stores by spring 2010. We are now knocking on the door of June and I am getting antsy! Any thoughts?</p>

<p>I had a similar situation on Sunday. A good friend of mine got married and I offered to shoot a little at her ceremony. I used only a 70-200 on a d300 and then ditched the camera at my hotel before the party. I had a great time and still got some great shots!</p>

<p>If it were me I would use the d50 for any unpaid work for sure, As other have said it is a great camera and capable of making fine images. Where I disagree is that I would rent a newer body for any paid work. I would not go strait to a 300 maybe a d90 or somthing. The high ISO is where the differences will be noticable and as you know when shooting a wedding you use high ISO a good amount.</p>

<p>I am suprised that no one has mentioned the issue of only 1 flash. I would go d90/17-50 2.8/70-200 2.8 and another sb600 or if you can find a sb800 used for cheaper than 350 or so.</p>

<p>How about some black gaffers tape?</p>

<p>Hey Scott, I have not forgotton you. As of late I have been doing alot of sub contract wedding work and have not had the need for a 2nd of my own. To anyone who is considering using Scott, I can vouch that he is more than capable as a assistant/2nd shooter. Thanks again for you help!</p>

<p>I usally ask politly that all photos be taken after mine. If that does not work I will simply stop shooting and bring my camera down to my side. The bride will usually yell at everyone to stop at this point.</p>

<p>My most cost effictive is the Tokina 28-80 2.8 that I have used as my normal zoom in my wedding kit from day one. Paid $280 for it and have made my money back 50x over.</p>

<p>Least cost effective would be my 50mm 1.8....Even though it was cheap and is a great lens, I never use it. I have that great 28-80!!!</p>

<p>Memory - 40 GB worth of 8GB cards 2-3 1GB and 2GB cards for back up.</p>

<p>Batteries - I shoot with battery grips so each camera has 2 EL3 batts and I take 2 spares. I will take 16 eneloop cells and 24 Powerex cells for my flashes. I usually bring one of my Maha 8 cell chargers in case. I will also bring a bag of Duracells as back up (usually 24 or so). The nikon battery grip comes with a AA attachment too so if things went south in the el3 dept I can always use AA'S.<br>

I have never actually used all of my cards or batts but you need backups in case.</p>

<p>Joe</p>

 

<p>Long,</p>

<p>I dont work for CNN, I just did a job fro them, I work as a commercial photographer. The in camera calibration may help but I am no expert on using it. It did work on my 50mm 1.8 which tended to back focus on my d300. The rule of thumb for handheld shooting is to use a shutter speed equivelent to your focal length, so at 200mm you should use 1/250th or faster. That being said if your meter is telling you 1/60th @ 2.8 iso3200 you will need a tripod. If you were to get the stabilized version you may be OK handheld, I cant speak for sigma but I think nikon claims 2-3 stops slower speed with VR. It is all about technique though honestly...You will need to learn how to use long glass properly or you will struggle to see sharp images from it.</p>

<p>Joe</p>

<p>Long,</p>

<p>Honestly, I do miss VR on occassion but it has only truly saved me 1 time in my career. I was shooting stills during a CNN interview so obviosly no flash was allowed. My camera at the time was a d200 which is terrrible above 800 ISO (800 is pretty bad too) and like a dummy I forgot a tripod! My exposure was 1/50th @ 2.8 ISO 800, So needless to say VR worked its magic and allowed me to shoot at 1/50th at 150-200mm. These days you can shoot at iso 1600 on any new decent dslr and be fine. If you have a d5000/90/300/700 you will not really need stabilization as much as you think. If you can afford it get it though B/C it only takes it saving you once to be worth it.<br>

Regarding the lens test...I know there are some threads on proper sharpness testing in this forum. A common problem with this lens is front/back focusing...so find or bring something with a lot of texture with you and pin point the focus to one spot. If that spot is sharp on your lcd you should be OK. Test aqt different f stops and focal lenghts, and use a tripod.I know sigma will calibrate your lens for free if you find it to be problematic. I am willing to bet a majority of the "Unsharp" copies were tested by folks who have poor shooting technique.</p>

<p>Joe</p>