triciakennedy

<p>And here's another vote for Kirk L-brackets - I wouldn't be without mine.</p>

<p>and here's another vote for Ilford Galerie Gold Fibre Silk - the prints have some sort of "je ne sais quoi" quality and always get compliments. </p>

<p>Gonzalo - thank you for your very helpful response. I usually select Print Quality: High. I thought perhaps my printer was the slowest on the planet but I don't mind if it means I get a good quality print. I think probably the key to this is a custom profile and I will take your advice and order one. I'm slightly baffled by the fact that mostly Grey ink is used and hardly any Photo Black (we'll forget Matt Black for now). Some colour is also used and I do sometimes tone my images. I appreciate the time you have taken to respond and will follow your suggestions. regards, Tricia.</p>

<p>Thank you Michael. I guess I'm looking for a bit more punch in my monochrome prints and I will try the comparison you suggest.</p>

<p>From my own experience of owning a 5DmkI, I can tell you it is a fantastic camera and the image quality is excellent. Interestingly, I recently looked back at some of my landscape shots from that camera and noticed how many more dust spots there were in the skies - a problem I hardly have with the MkII. When I bought the MkII I thought I would never use Live View (which wasn't a feature of the MkI) but I use Live View most of the time for my landscapes - it helps with both composition and focussing. I have no experience of the 60D but, if I couldn't buy the 5DmkII, then I would definitely go for the 60D for the newer features such as auto dust removal and live view and then choose lenses accordingly. I hope that helps. </p>

<p>Hello - I would like to get the very best monochrome prints from my Canon Pixma Pro9500 and I am currently 85% happy with current results. I think there is more I can do but I just don't know how and I'd appreciate any advice. I use PS CS5 and am extremely careful about going through the print dialogues so that I have Photoshop Manages Colours, select the correct media, and so on and I use the exact profile for the paper. I like to use Ilford Galerie Gold Fibre Silk which, so far, is the best paper I can find. I notice that the printer uses masses of Grey ink and very little Photo Black (or Matt Black for that matter but that's usually used for matt papers, I believe). This leads me to thinking that there are more settings that I perhaps don't know about, or can't currently access. I've trawled through the printer manual which wasn't all that helpful and I've also looked on Canon's support site but can only seem to find the product specification and driver downloads. I would obviously like to get the very best prints possible and if there is a way to achieve really gorgeous monochrome printing, then I would love to know more. If anyone can offer any helpful advice or tell me where to look for more information, that would be much appreciated. I don't have any traditional darkroom skills as I came into photography at the digital level but I very much admire fine art monochrome work. Thanks in advance.</p>

<p>Hi - in your shoes my wish list for wide angle on the 5DmkII would be 17-40 as a first choice. Going up in price, the 16-35 (the MkI is good if you can find a good used one). And going up in price even more, the Zeiss 21 Distagon f/2.8 - absolutely stunning image quality. I think you should take a serious look at the 17-40 - it's a popular lens, it's reasonably priced, it gives excellent results, and would be easy enough to sell on if you didn't like it or further down the line when you want to upgrade more. Good luck with your choice.</p>

<p>Santa brought me a Rolex Yachtmaster. I will enjoy seeing it on my wrist every day from now on. Nice though the M9 would be, I could not wear it. I'm lucky enough to have a couple of great cameras (Canon 5Dii is one of them). I would challenge anyone to know if the final print came from an M9 or a 5Dii (or any other quality camera, for that matter) but the Rolex will endure over time and probably appreciate in value. As you guess, my vote goes to buying the Rolex, or, do as another poster has suggested and give the cash to charity. I'm guessing you already have a good camera(?) Good luck with your choice!</p>

<p>Thanks Gerry for your viewpoint. I had originally thought that such an adaptor was around the hundred pound mark, which is why I posed the original question. To my thinking, at a hundred pounds and the results might not be great, then I would not bother. However, for an adaptor costing around thirty pounds, then it's worth the experiment. It seemed to me that it might give my old FD lens a new lease of life and could potentially create some interesting images. Whether the adaptor is too fiddly in practice, I have yet to tell as I've now ordered an adaptor from Amazon (£30). It will, as you say, stay on the one FD lens as it's the only FD lens I have left so no problem with changing lenses. I am enjoying my GF-1 and on a recent holiday I took only that camera. Leaving behind my Canon DSLR and various lenses, it felt strange at first to have such a lightweight camera but, actually, it was liberating and somehow more creative - and fun! Thanks again. </p>

<p>Thank you Yoshio - yet again another very helpful response from Photo net forum members - much appreciated</p>

<p>Thank you Bradley - that's really useful information. I will look on Amazon and on EBay UK and buy an adaptor. It will be great to use my old FD 50mm again - especially as it was the lens I started out with on a Canon AV1. Thanks also for telling me about the lumixlifestyle website - I will head over there right now. </p>

<p>Thank you David. I think I might try it, although I'm told that I should buy a top quality adaptor and over here (UK) they are around a hundred pounds. Does anyone else have any experience of FD lenses on micro four-thirds? </p>

<p>Hello - I've read that I can buy an adaptor so that I can use Canon FD lens on my micro 4/3rds camera. Does anyone have any experience of this please? I have an old FD 50mm 1.8 which would give me 100mm on my 4/3rds. I think it might be a good portrait option but an adaptor costs around a hundred pounds and I'm not sure what I would gain. Currently, my only lens for this GF-1 is the 14-45 (kit) lens. Any comments on this would be welcome. Thank you in advance.</p>

<p>This is an interesting topic and I too am drawn to the square image - particularly in black & white. However, I shoot digital and so, when I am composing an image in the viewfinder, I am mentally cropping out parts of the scene I will later crop out in PS. I know this is unusual but I don't have any other camera and so I am working with what I have. Does anyone do this? If my 5D mkII had an option for square images, I would use it 90% of the time. </p>

<p>Hello again Kirsten. Sorry to give you another dilemma, but I really think that a 70-200 would be a great asset for your trip. As to the f/4 or the f/2.8 - that's really down to personal preference. The f/4 is lighter and is a very good lens. The f/2.8 is quite a bit heavier (I have the Mk I version) and I found it very useful with IS. The IS came in very useful for me as the f/2.8 is a heavy lens and I really believe the IS helped me get the shot even when I had been hand-holding the camera and lens for some time. However, on a tripod for landscapes, I would not need IS and the f/4 would have done nicely. It comes down to a personal shooting style. Your 100mm macro is a fabulous portrait lens. If I were you, I would only consider the 70-200 (either f4 or f2.8) if I needed the 200. It's a tough call and my best advice would be for you to hire one of the 70-200 lenses so that you can try it out and see if it suits your style of shooting. Just to give you another perspective, maybe also think about keeping the number of lens changes to a minimum as I have a sneaking suspicion that you will be tempted to shoot much more than landscapes. On a recent trip to Spain I left my 5D MkII behind and took only my Panasonic GF-1 with the 14-45 kit lens. (28-90 actual focal length) Incredibly useful camera - very unobtrusive for travel shots - and unbelievably good quality. In your shoes, I would pack your 5D MkII, your 24-70, a 17-40 and a 70-200 f4. If the budget allows, consider a Panasonic GF-1 with the 14-45 just for those fun, quirky travel shots. Sorry to blow your budget but you will find lots to shoot in three months around Europe. Not forgetting lots of cards and back-up! Have a great trip.</p>

<p>Hello Kirsten - a 3 month photography trip sounds fabulous! I live in Europe and I have a Canon 5D MkII. I mostly do landscape shots but, as an earlier responder has pointed out, you might be tempted to get some good travel shots as well. If I was packing my camera bag for a 3-month trip around Europe, primarily for landscape, I would pack my much loved 24-105 L. You say that you have the 24-70 and I've heard that it's a great lens, so obviously you are taking that lens with you. I would also pack my 70-200 f/2.8 and also a 17-40L. The 70-200 f/2.8 is good for landscapes and also for travel shots and portraits. I got some absolutely fabulous shots with that lens at the Venice Carnival. The 17-40L is an excellent wide angle lens and less expensive than the 16-35 MkII. For landscapes you will be using small apertures and the 17-40 is a very good wide angle lens. If you really, really want an absolutely outstanding wide angle lens, then go for the Zeiss 21 f/2.8 Distagon - it just has a certain magic about it - but it's expensive! Obviously, you will be thinking about weight of your camera gear and airline restrictions. Always a juggling act! Good luck with your choices.</p>

<p>Yes, plastic bags - I almost forgot! I am concerned that the RIB will bounce around and with a flotilla of small boats around as the welcome party, I think it will be choppy. I hope the IS will help me. Great advice about the lenses - thanks. So, it's the 70-200 for when she is at a distance and the 24-105 for closer. Thanks again for the helpful advice. </p>

<p>Thanks to you both for the advice. <br>

@Craig - I don't have anything wider than my 24-105 so I guess I will just have to make do with that but thanks for pointing out that I will probably encounter the clutter of small boats - good point! I'm also after all the lovely vintage details.<br>

@David - yes, slowing down the RIB will be important - and towels!</p>

<p> </p>

<p>I usually shoot landscapes but tomorrow a very beautiful, old-style 160ft schooner will sail into harbour here and I would like to get some good shots. A flotilla of small boats will go out to greet the schooner as she makes her approach and I will be on one of those small boats with my camera. Does anyone have any advice for me as to the best technique? I'm hoping to capture the beautiful sails and lines of the yacht. I have only one camera body - a Canon 5D MkII and I thought that my 70-200 f2.8 IS L (MkI) lens would be best. I also have a 1.4 extender and a 24-105 L lens but I think it might be tricky trying to change lenses whilst on the RIB. I usually use manual mode but possibly shutter priority might be more appropriate? Any advice from anyone experienced in yachting photography will be much appreciated. My thanks in advance.</p>

<p>The 5DMkII weighs exactly the same as the MkI. I enjoyed my 5DMkI but the MkII is a huge improvement in resolution and image quality. Plasticky? I don't know what else you would expect in this day and age. But to get such great images (and video!) at such a competitive price is all that I would want. If it feels 'plasticky' then I truly don't care - it is, after all, only one of the tools in a photographer's arsenal. I'm not bothered about the nuts and bolts of how it is made - only the end result matters. May I respectfully suggest that you attach a decent lens to your great new camera and get out there and make some images? I think you might not care what it feels like once you see the results. You say that you are expecting great things from your new camera - I am confident that you will not be disappointed.</p>

 

<p>Thank you all for your responses. I had no intention of sending cold shivers down anyone's spine - sorry! I simply know nothing about old cameras - I discovered photography when I bought a digital compact 5 years ago and now cannot imagine ever being without my digital SLR and a variety of lenses. The Rolleiflex camera is a fascinating thing and I wish I had some time to explore it more. Right now, I'm rushing to meet some photography deadlines by the end of February. I'm grateful for the information from all of you and I will relay all this to my friend who inherited the camera. At the end of the day, it is up to him to decide what to do with the Rolleiflex but, if he wants me to place it on an auction site on his behalf, I will do so. The box lid is missing but the box is cram full of various accessories. If anyone here is interested, you are welcome to contact me by email and I will try my best to list the various bits and pieces. I don't think the camera works but the suggestion of a professional CLA is a good one. I would have to find somewhere in the UK who could do that. Lauren - thanks for the link to the antiquecameras site - I will suggest my friend looks on that website. Thanks again for the helpful suggestions. </p>

<p>Thank you Rick and thank you Lauren. It's obviously too good to throw away and I will see if my pal wants me to put it up for sale. Appreciate your responses. </p>

<p>and the last image</p><div></div>

<p>and another</p><div></div>

<p>Sorry - I'm having trouble uploading the images</p><div></div>