james_atria

<p>It was always explained to me that the big draw for these large backed cameras was not just the Mega Pixels but the Dynamic Range and the Color Depth.</p>

<p>Adorama does the same although the website will take your order they will not process it till monday or at least that is my understanding. </p>

<p>I have had a chance to handle the 60d of a friends and I can honestly say it feels like a toy. Going from a rebel to the 60d you might not feel that much a difference but coming from any other XXD/XD body to the 60D it feels a lot smaller. Also canon not including AF micro adjustment with the 60D is a deal breaker for me. I have had a decent number of lenses requiring some level of micro adjustment and not having the option kills the 60D for me. The 60D using SDHC cards is another big no no for me even though they are not expensive I have a ton of CF cards. If you are staying with your 2 options of 7D or 60D it would be the 7D hands down. <br>

But as was stated earlier I would consider a Lens investment and make the most out of the body you currently have. </p>

<p>If money is not an issue I would take the 1DsMk3 easily. I had the opportunity to test shoot one from a local wedding photographer and I honestly considered selling my car to get one. I have never shot with a camera that felt so intuitive and shot and focused like that. <br>

If you have the money to buy a Ferrari why would you buy a Fiat.</p>

<p>An AF system upgrade would warrant me upgrading to the MK3. I love my Mk2 but the shutter lag and focus speed annoy me when working in a non studio environment. </p>

<p>That being said I am not holding my breath on a Mk3 coming out anytime soon especially since I am already blue from waiting on the 1Ds replacement. </p>

<p>Here is a great place to start with some photography related pvc pipe builds. The pdf is a free download and pretty helpful for the mechanically challenged.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.software-cinema.com/page/13/tinkertubes">http://www.software-cinema.com/page/13/tinkertubes</a></p>

<p>Just to note that thanks to the magic of blogs and things like youtube you can find more training online for free that is a lot of times better and more complete then attending a seminar or school. <br /> As an old seminar junky unless you are going for something specific to the person holding the seminar they tend to be more for entertainment than learning. Case in point after attending Syl Arena & Joe McNally seminars while I learned some new things what I really learned that if you are sponsored by Nikon or Canon you can use $10k worth of speedlights to do amazing things.</p>

<p>My 2cents</p>

<p>I definitely meant reciever thanks for the correction :-)</p>

<p>Cheers.</p>

<p>Jean Congrats on your new gear. Something that I bought recently to help me haul my gear around easily was <br /> <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/706871-REG/Photogenic_915378_PL03CS_X_LRG_CORDURA_SOFT.html">http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/706871-REG/Photogenic_915378_PL03CS_X_LRG_CORDURA_SOFT.html</a><br /> It works great and can easily hold what you have bought. Much easier than carrying a ton of bags around.</p>

<p>I would definitely get a transmitter for each light especially when shooting outside where the slave eye can be easily tricked or not fired at all. I also second the reflectors as something important. You can make do with some foamcore board for now but something you might want to look into for the future. <br /> You definitely have a lot of gear but I am sure you will slowly get to grips with what works and what doesn't for you. Good luck and Happy shooting. </p>

<p>The golf bag idea is genius. I think I am going to the local golf outlet later today. </p>

<p>Well I put the order in today settled on 2 Einsteins will all the fixings as a late Christmas to myself. I look forward to taking my photography to the next level. Thank you all for the advice now I get to wait for things to get here from being backordered.</p>

<p>On a side note anyone know a good place to rent a couple monolights?</p>

<p>Thanks for the advice MP. I am new to studio lights so I am just wanting to make sure I can do what I want easily. </p>

<p>Thanks for the info Matt and everyone else. I didn't realize the cyber commander could be used as a light meter. </p>

<p>Bear with me since I am about to pepper you with questions: Are there any limitations to using the cyber commander as my sole source of information? I debating 1 einstein and 2 sb400s or 800s but I really want 2 einsteins will that make much of a difference. I am hoping to do outdoor work with the studio lights will the cyber commander work there or should I just get a selkonic and then get a Cyber a bit later?<br>

If I can do everything with the Cyber Commander it will mean I can get 2 einsteins and a cyber with the money set aside for the meter. </p>

<p>I am about to bite the bullet on a alien bees/einstein studio setup. I have everything picked out except the last piece which would be a light meter. I am not sure exactly what functions I need the meter to do/not do or even what to look for when buying it. I understand that it will, or should, be one of those pieces of equipment that will stay with you through the years so I would like to buy a decent one without completely breaking the bank.<br>

Any suggestions on what to look for or recommendations on units to purchase would be greatly appreciated. The information the better since I am still trying to educate myself. </p>

<p>I always say it like Boca Raton being from South Florida. I have been trying to say it properly as Bow-keh for a while but people give me weird looks when I do. </p>

<p>Adorama, B&H, Amazon in that order is always where I spend my money. They are reputable and tops in customer satisfaction. Also if I see it listed lower then those 3 I tend to be very skeptical. </p>

<p>Has there been any reviews or a price listed yet? At 1st glance I would say it's too slow for me @ 4.5 wide open. </p>

<p>and +1 for the Spinal Tap quote</p>

<p>Topaz Adjust, Nik Silver Efex Pro I have a few more but I find myself using those 2 most of the time. </p>

<p>You said without hardly moving the camera which could mean a lot of things. If your were spot you could have moved the center to a brighter part of the object. You said it was a window sill so the light coming in could have changed. There are a lot of light variables and every time you half press the shutter button your camera will meter what you have in frame. If you are worried about it use the AE lock button on the back of the camera after you expose the spot you want get your exposure and switch to manual. <br>

If you were using another metering mode perhaps a update on how they work would help you. A great resource can be found here.<br>

<a href="http://www.usa.canon.com/dlc/controller?act=GetArticleAct&articleID=2666">http://www.usa.canon.com/dlc/controller?act=GetArticleAct&articleID=2666</a></p>

<p> </p>

<p>I have extremely good luck with the Samsung series that Ends in T ie. The 214t 245t 305t all those maintain a 97% color Gamut which for the price is exceptional. Getting above that I have noticed nearly the prices nearly Double. If you can find one I suggest picking up one but I know they were recently discontinued and I am not sure what they are replacing them with. But you can still pick up the 245t for $500 if you can find one. </p>

<p>NEC monitors are also another excellent buy with wide color gamuts for just under $1000. Not sure what they are going for on your side of the pond but something to look into. </p>

<p>If you camera store is similar to mine with several versions of the Simpsons comic book guy running around it's no wonder that many people don't buy from them. The other thing to consider is if I buy online vs local I don't pay sales tax which on a $5k item can be quite high versus paying shipping which is about $25 on the high end. <br>

If you like your local Shop then post that they have them so out of towners can get at these remarkable cameras. </p>

<p>I wouldn't bother with ready boosts it's not where it needs to be and because USB subsystems are shared with other devices every other USB device you have will diminish the effectiveness of the ready boost which is not great to begin with. <br>

There are several things you can do such as make sure you drive is Defragged. Clear your HD of superflous programs and files. Add more RAM to your machine etc etc. You could also get rid of Vista and get Windows7 but that is not absolutely necessary. </p>

<p>I have absolutely no issues with the latest release of DPP. Make sure you have no other apps running in the background through Task manager not just the task bar at the bottom. Look specifically for applications using large amounts of ram and shut them down. Your Freezes sounds like you are low on resources. </p>

 

<p>Just as a follow up. I wound up keeping the Lowepro Slingshot 200AW because it was more comfortable to carry longer distances (Ie Hiking). The domke actually fit my gear much more easily and had better accessibility to everything but the lowepro was better on the long hauls and I was still able to access the camera quiet easily. Also the rain cover was a big win in my book from lowepro no more carrying garbage bags with me. </p>

<p>I have yet to be able to get the DL myself. It times out rather quickly. I will probably try again later in the week since it's not imperative to have it. </p>