jasonweddington

June 21, 2011

>> the camera's built-in meter doesn't work with a flash attached does it???

Actually, it does work. With ETTL2 the flash emits a tiny "pre-flash" first. The camera meters the scene from the pre-flash, and then decides how much flash power is required for the main flash. This all happens in a split second, after you press the shutter button but before the shutter actually fires.

Especially with scenes well-lit with speedlites, the 5D MII noise level is quite acceptable even at ISO 1000. If the final output is something like web, or 4x6 prints, the noise will not be visible in the finished image.

June 15, 2011

Hi Frank. Here are some simple instructions to get you started:

<a href="http://jasonweddington.com/2011/01/fixing-focus-issues-with-af-microadjustment/">http://jasonweddington.com/2011/01/fixing-focus-issues-with-af-microadjustment/</a>

My problem was specific to a certain lens, so the lens was to blame, not the body. With the 5D MkII you can apply per-lens adjustments, if you have a few lenses that don't focus properly. Or you can apply the same adjustment to all lenses, which you would do if each lens is off by the same amount.

This is C.Fn. III, menu item 8 on the 5D Mark 2.

June 15, 2011

Try a controlled test to see if your body is front-focusing across lenses. Use an AF test chart like the one here: <a href="http://regex.info/blog/photo-tech/focus-chart">http://regex.info/blog/photo-tech/focus-chart</a>.

June 13, 2011

I have the 5D MkII and the lenses in your "kit 1" above. I'm happy with my choice. Having said that, I bought my 5D before the 7D was released. The 5D MkII has better image quality and low light performance. The 7D is much cheaper, still a very nice camera, and has a faster fps in continuous shooting mode. Which is more important to you?

Google "5D MKII vs 7D" and you'll find hundreds of people asking the same question.

June 8, 2011

Lots of possibilities here, if it was me I would try something like this:

- position the arm chair so that the window lights them from the left

- put the reflector outside the frame on the right for fill, angled to fill their faces if possible.

- seat the woman in the chair, and the man next to her, his weight shifted to one leg, and maybe his arm resting on the back of the chair

- shoot with both of them looking at the camera, and then with her looking up at him, and him looking down at her

- have him kneel next to the chair and look at her face, maybe touch her arm. First have her look back at him, then try with her looking away from him with a thoughtful expression, tell her to remember their first date

- reverse man and woman and repeat

If the light from the window is already indirect, I don't think you need to diffuse with a curtain. If the sun is streaming in, then diffuse.

With a seated subject, well-lit set, camera on a tripod, and 400 film, I don't think you need to worry about shutter speed. You'll have plenty of wiggle room. Figure out how much DOF you need, (find a DOF table for that lens) and then set shutter speed accordingly after you've figured out the aperture. Not sure about the Portra 100 film though, that's two stops faster. Compromise DOF first, because no one likes shaky photos.

June 7, 2011

I don't fully understand your requirement. To you have two iMacs? Just one printer?

Assuming you have two iMacs, the easiest way is probably to buy an Airport Express, or Extreme, and set up a wireless network. Go to System Preferences > Sharing and set file sharing between the two computers. If you need to share a printer, you can set that up there too.

Lightroom doesn't work for files that are not stored locally, but you could edit on one machine and export a finished JPEG into a folder that is shared between the two computers.

Or you could just use screen sharing. Share the screen of the new iMac (also in System Preferences > Sharing) and then just remotely control the new Mac from the other computer. This is fine if one them is the main machine, used most of the time, and you just occasionally need to do stuff from the other machine. I have my main machine upstairs, but sometimes I remote control it from my laptop downstairs when I just want to check one quick thing and don't feel like walking upstairs.

Let me know more details about what you're trying to do and maybe I can help more.

June 6, 2011

Hi Raihan,

I don't know about your strobes, but here are some general ideas. Basically, I recommend you experiment, and get used to the concept of flash photography.

With strobes:

<ul>

<li>shutter speed controls the degree to which the ambient light in the room affects your exposure</li>

<li>aperture controls the degree to which the flash affects your exposure. The flash pop lasts for only a fraction of a second, so it doesn't matter how long your shutter is open, only how big it opens</li>

</ul>

Here's a good exercise to help get you started with flash photography. This can help you "feel" the flash:

<ul>

<li>set your camera on ISO 100, 1/200, f/10</li>

<li>set your strobes manually to 1/2 power</li>

<li>if the shot is too bright, stop down to f/13, if it's too dark open up to around f/8</li>

<li>take another test shot</li>

<li>if you get all the way to your minimum aperture (maybe f/22?) and the image is still too bright then lower the power on the strobe</li>

<li>keep experimenting until you find settings that "work"</li>

<li>if you want to blur the background, go to a bigger aperture, like 5.6, and lower the power on the strobe by the same number of stops</li>

</ul>

Only change one thing at a time so that you can see the impact of that change. Keep your shutter speed and ISO constant, only change aperture. This will help you see the affect that different aperture values have on your exposure.

1/200 at ISO 100 should kill the ambient light in the room. The only noticeable light in your exposure will be from the flash.

A few other points:

<ul>

<li>the closer you put the light, the softer and more flattering it will look. If you're using umbrellas, it's because you want soft light. So get the lights as close as possible without them showing up in the frame</li>

<li>lights get more powerful as you bring them closer, so stop down to a smaller aperture or lower the power on your strobes as you bring them closer to prevent overexposure</li>

</ul>

June 5, 2011

I have two top level folders: FamilyPhotos and MyPhotography. Below those folders I organize by year and date.

For example:

FamilyPhotos > 2011 > 2011-06-03 At the park

MyPhotography > 2011 > 2011-05-07 Tokyo at Night

I use LightRoom to organize. My workflow is:

<ol>

<li>Import to LR, convert to DNG on the way in</li>

<li>Run quickly through the photos, give the great ones 5 starts, flag the junk as rejected</li>

<li>Delete the rejected images</li>

<li>Filter my view so I only see the 5 star images</li>

<li>Add relevant tags like portrait, outdoor, fine art, etc</li>

</ol>

Most organizers have the ability to tag, keyword, and rate images. I find that if I don't discipline myself to do this when I import, I never make it back and then I just have a pile of pictures.

May 30, 2011

I'm an IT professional, been in this field since '98. As long is the computer isn't holding you back, keep using it. Computers are made for the dump these days, manufactures are careful not to make them too good, because then you wouldn't upgrade. I'm an Apple user, and love my Mac, but Apple is just like the rest of the OEMs. Each new generation obsoletes the previous, and it's not an accident. Don't play that game. Spend your hard-earned cash on something that will last longer than a computer.

But back up your data, because desktop-class hardware isn't designed to last much longer than the 3-year warranty. If you've been on the same hard drive for 3 years, you're due for a failure at some point. (Or you could get lucky, but back up your data just the same.)

3 years old is not the first generation iMac, not even close. The first generation one looks like this:

Cute huh? If your's doesn't look like this, then keep using it. Three years ago means you probably have a dual core processor, which is pretty respectable. I say keep your current machine and buy a new lens or two instead. Computers are good for a few years, good glass can last a lifetime. ;-)

May 30, 2011

2.8 is pretty fast, and if you're talking about the IS USM 17-55, it's a much better lens than the 50 1.4, in most conditions. Sure the 1.4 is better in low light, but in low light the AF falls apart.

Unless you wander the streets at night, I don't see the 50 1.4 as the next step. (I used to have the 17-55 IS USM when I was shooting on the 30D, I have the 5D MKII now, and I currently own the 50 1.4)

For most situations, you have the wide end covered. Go long. Look at the 70-200 f/2.8 or f/4. Or look at one of the 75-300 options if you want more reach and are OK with a variable aperture.

May 28, 2011

You could try a 1.4x teleconverter for a little more reach. It's cheaper than the 7D, and can fit in a small pocket in your photo bag. I have a cheap, non-Canon 1.4x teleconverter that I used with L lenses on my 5D mkII. Usually, I don't see any degradation in image quality, as long as the image is well lit.

The 7D is a fine camera, but personally I don't like it. Coming from the 5D mkII, all the controls on the 7D feel like they are in weird places.

May 28, 2011

This page here explains the problem and claims to have a fix:

<a href="http://www.aeonity.com/david/adobe-photoshop-cs2-thumbnails-psd-file-in-windows-explorer">http://www.aeonity.com/david/adobe-photoshop-cs2-thumbnails-psd-file-in-windows-explorer</a>

I took a look at the .reg and it seems OK, but I haven't tested this myself. I don't use Windows at home. Try it at your own risk! Run a virus scan on the zip file before you do anything else.

Re-installing PS 7 would probably also fix the problem, but then PS 7 would probable steal the PSD file association from CS2.

May 26, 2011

Ah, she's in Japan! (I am too.) There are thousands of these classic old cameras for sale in the used shops in Tokyo, the hard part is finding one for a decent price. A lot of them are in amazing condition and priced for collectors, not people who want to actually shoot with them. I went into one place last weekend that was all Leica and almost nothing under $1500 US. It was more of a museum (shrine??) than a camera store.

I've posted a few shots from a test roll with my Konica FP. I picked it up for 5000 yen (USD $62). It's the most fun I've had with a camera in a while. Learning to shoot with a manual SLR is a nice experience.

I'm shooting film because I need a change. I've carried a camera with me everywhere almost everyday for the last 2 years, and I'm starting to feel photographic deja vu (already shot that). So now I'm only carrying a film camera with me. If I do something "important" where I really need to get the shot I'll take the 5D mkII, but for my casual wanderings film is more fun.

Also, there's a nice family-run photo lab in my neighborhood. I'd like to see them stay in business, so I buy my film from them, instead of from the mega-stores.

May 25, 2011

I have the mkII and 21mp is more than enough for everything I do.

It's nice to be able to crop and still have plenty of image left when my lens didn't have the reach I wanted, but other than that I have no need of the extra pixels.

Instead of more pixels, I'd rather see them bring back Eye Control.

May 25, 2011

Thanks, I never sign out, so I see my custom homepage, and I bookmarked the activity feed and usually jump straight to there. Just logged out, and I see what you mean by splash image. I refreshed a few times and got the girl with the medium format SLR. Cool!

May 25, 2011

I broke my 50mm 1.8, and a few weeks later my wife broke hers. But that's because we were careless. Take care of it and it should last for a while. It will stand up to years of use, but not to years of abuse. I think the 50mm 1.8 is the leader in the bang for your buck category, and if you break it, it's cheap to replace.

May 25, 2011

I didn't notice, but I guess this is why my shot of my <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jwedd459/5732657918/in/photostream">new (old) Konica FP</a> got so much attention. So far I only have a shot of the camera in my stream, but I have a couple rolls to scan and should have some shots from that camera online later today.

May 25, 2011

I agree with the comments on the 5D MII being a center-point only camera. All my Canon lenses do well even in low light with the center point. The Sigma 85 1.4 tends to hunt in low light, even with the center point. I do a lot of nighttime street shooting wide-open and usually AF is not a problem with the center point.

One thing to add is that with the speedlite transmitter ST-E2 IR trigger, AF is 100% almost all the time with pretty much any lens. I think the additional AF-assist from the ST-E2 really helps the AF along. This might be useful if you're shooting indoors and adding flash, line of sight is not an issue with this trigger indoors and I really like the improved AF.

May 25, 2011

I bought an 18 year old 300mm f/4L (non IS) about 6 months ago. It works great. See if you can find one used in decent condition, you won't be disappointed.

May 25, 2011

The problem with iPhoto is that your images are buried inside the "iPhoto Library" which is a package file. The good news is that there's an actual file system in there if you k now how to get at it.

<ol>

<li>Open Finder</li>

<li>Go to your "Pictures" folder</li>

<li>Find the file called iPhoto Library</li>

<li>Right click or option click on it</li>

<li>Choose "Show Package Contents"</li>

<li>Look in the "Masters" folder</li>

<li>Your RAW files will be in there somewhere. Sometimes they are in the right place by date, but sometimes they are filed under the date they were imported into iPhoto.</li>

</ol>

I don't like iPhoto or Aperture, because the filesystem is abstracted from the presentation. It's all find and good until you want to do something with your images that Apple didn't anticipate. Also all your metadata is stored in a database, not in the file itself. So if you mess up your database, you'll still have photos, but it will just be a disorganized file pile.

I organized everything in Lightroom, convert RAW to DNG when importing, and write all metadata back into the DNG. At least then the metadata moves with the file in case I ever mess up my Lightroom catalogue.

May 25, 2011

Have you tried Smugmug? If you have a pro subscription you can sell "photo packages" which are the same photo, printed in different sizes. Their shopping cart is pretty intuitive.

May 25, 2011

A good option is to rent a lens for a week and see if it works for you.

Which zoom are you selling and why didn't it meet your requirement? Fast primes are great, but there's a place for zooms, especially for general purpose stuff when you're not sure what focal length you'll need to capture the action.

There's lens info on all my digital shots on <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jwedd459">my flickr page</a>, maybe this will give you some idea of what focal length is right for your projects. You can also look at <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jwedd459/tags/">my tags</a> to see all the images taken with a particular lens.

I love my Sigma 85mm f/1.4 on a FF DSLR or 35mm film SLR. My copy front focuses on the 5D MII, which is apparently a common problem but easy to fix with AF microadjust.

But at the end of the day, the question is really "which set of primes to get this time" because eventually you'll want them all! ;-)

Sign In

Profiles

Forums

Blogs

Events

Downloads

Gallery

Store

Posts posted by jasonweddington