andrew_ito

Anyone here use fly reel cases for 4x5? I've seen some people mention that they use them to hold

lenses and cameras, but would love to see pics of them in use. Any specific brands or models

recommended? Here's an Orvis that someone recommended on another board.

http://www.orvis.com/store/product_choice.asp?

pf_id=96GT&feature_id=&dir_id=11379&group_id=11388&cat_id=8963&subcat_id=8964

Looks like it would make a great case, but I'm wondering if the dividers are moveable or if they are

pretty set on these types of cases.

Personally, I'd get a 70-200 f2.8L IS for the longer end. I'd also get some backups if possible

for lenses. I'm not sure if you already have suitable backups like kit lenses or primes though.

the 50mm 1.4 or 1.8 is also a good lens to own. It's cheap and sharp.

I'd also get a Canon CP-E3 battery pack and fill it with MAHA 2500 NiMH rechargeables

instead of carrying around 50 AA's. It'll pay for itself in a short time, the batteries are lighter

than alkalines and they hold a better charge. I can do a whole wedding on one charge of the

8 AA NiMH's in the CP-E3 and the 4 AA NiMH's in each flash. That's a total of 16 batts with

another 12-16 AA NiMH's as backup.

If you have the money for a 1Ds2 then you can afford both systems. It just won't be with

the 1Ds2. I bought a 5D which is working out great for me. I sold my 24mm TS-E though.

I found that if I wanted to spend the time to shoot with movements I'd rather just use the

view camera. I wouldn't invest $6-7K in a single digital body at this point but would

rather invest less than half that amount on the 5D which performs at a VERY high level for

less than half the price. Spend the money on glass instead which holds it's value much

better. By going for the cheaper (and lighter 5D) it will allow you to purchase a view

camera setup as well. Different tools for different jobs.

I actually have a Sunpak 120J that I've used for my medium format work and really liked the

results. It's interesting to see the responses for power on the 580ex. I didn't realize that the

high GN of the 580ex was for the zoom position. I have had some issues with lighting large

groups in a relatively dark church and thought that was due to the Lightsphere more than

anything, understandably. I'll have to run some tests with the Quantum and see how it

stands.

I've got a Canon 580ex and am thinking of switching my flash system from the 580ex and

550ex (both with Gary Fong Lightspheres) and with CP-E3 to a Quantum T4D with a Turbo

Z pack. Does anyone have any experience with these two and can you list any thoughts

between the two? The Canon system seems lighter and better integrated but the T4D

seems to have more power.

Also, I've read that people really enjoy the "light quality" from the bare bulb flash units like

the Quantum and Sunpak 120J. Can anyone describe this "light quality" improvement or

show some comparisons?

Lastly, how much more power does the T4D have over the 190GN of the 580ex? Thanks

for taking the time to read and respond. :)

I have both the 550ex and 580ex and generally prefer the 580ex. It's lighter, more

powerful, easier to use the dial, more compact, automatically recognizes and compensates

for 1.6x cameras and has the one button swivel.

Oh, forgot to mention that I load up the CP-E3 with NiMH rechargeables. Just ordered some

more from Thomas Distributing.

For my Canon 580ex and 550ex I've been using the Canon CP-E3 AA battery pack. It's

relatively light and cheap and recycles fast. I use it for two cameras and it easily lasts the

entire wedding for me.

I've also just invested in a Quantum T4D with Turbo Z power pack that should arrive this

week. The seller tells me that it will put out roughly twice the power of the 580ex. I'm

looking forward to seeing if this is true. Plus it's got complete dedication to the Canon

system I'm told.

If there isn't a ton of ambient light on the subject then at 1/20 the subject should still be

sharp if you're using flash. It's called dragging the shutter and is a fairly common

technique. If there is some light on the subject, you might get some unusual blurry

outlines on the subject where the ambient light picked up the movements of the subject

while your shutter was open. The flash duration is typically short enough to stop the

action though. I routinely drag the shutter at speeds like 1/8 and 1/4 sec in a very dark

reception hall. For dance shots it can turn out quite nice!

I shoot wedding receptions with my 5D and 20D. Both have excellent high ISO

characteristics so I don't hesitate to go into the ISO 1000-1250. With my 20D I shot at ISO

800. Both were using either a 550ex or 580ex with a LSII and LSIIPJ respectively. Shooting

with higher ISOs opens up the backgrounds quite a bit and lessens the harshness of the

flash. Also, since the LSII cuts a lot of power the higher ISOs help get some of that back.

Shooting RAW with M mode is the way to go. Shutter speeds can vary. I wouldn't hesitate

to use slower speeds. Often, if it is dim enough, the flash will act like a shutter. It stops

the action for a very brief time and the longer shutter speeds will help properly expose the

rest of the room. It creates some effects though if your videographer or DJ are using

lights to light up the B&G. Be aware of the other people using lights. Your apertures

should be fine.

One thing to consider is getting a backup. Even if you just buy one and sell it after the

event. If your equipment goes down you'll need at least one camera to finish off the event.

I don't think Canon will be producing a cheap FF sensor body in the very near future. They

just came out with the 5D. They'd be shooting themselves in the foot to produce a cheap

one so soon after. That said, a used 1Ds can be had for around $2500 and sometimes

cheaper if you look. FF, 1-series body and 11.1 MP for $800 less than a new 5D. The high

ISO won't be as good but you've got a great camera to play with. I went that route because I

saw a used 1Ds for a price I couldn't pass up. After using it for a little while I find that the

build quality is head and shoulders above the 5D. I played with a 5D for a little while on

Friday and it seemed to be very "plasticky" in comparison to the 1Ds. That said, you can get

a good wide angle lens for your camera without the need for full frame.

Canon will do the modification for you plus clean the lens. At least they did for me,

without charge. Don't know if they normally do this for everyone though.

I've had two 24-70L's and two 28-70L's as well as having a sharp Tamron 28-75 XR Di.

My 24-105L IS is by far the best of all those lenses IMHO. I find the extra reach to be

great and the IS is incredible. The lens is also sharper than all the rest I tested. My

Tamron was sharper than all the Canon 2.8 offerings I tested it against, although color and

contrast would have to go to the Canon's as well as focus speed and build quality. The

new 24-105L has it all. Focus speed, sharpness, build quality, excellent color and

contrast and IS. It's also considerably lighter than the 2.8 Canon offerings which is

especially important for use as a travel/walkaround lens. The downfall, of course, is the f4

speed. The bokeh is still incredible and smooth though. When isolating a single person, I

find that 2.8 is far better, however, during a wedding you often try to isolate the couple

and I found that 2.8 is a bit too shallow for my tastes unless the couple is lined up evenly.

f4 is fine for me for wedding work. Also, when shooting weddings you will need the extra

handholdability. (is that a word?) When shooting portraits I'll just reach for the 85 or 135L

prime instead. As far as a general all-purpose zoom, the Canon 24-105L IS is THE BEST

I've used. YMMV of course.

Yakim,

I've experimented a little with hoods for my 17-40L and 10-22 on a 1.6x APS-C sensor. The

EW-63DII hood for the 24L is fine for the 17-40 and vignettes a hair on the 10-22. The

EW-63H hood for the 24-105L IS is fine for the 17-40 and vignettes a touch less than the

63DII hood. YMMV of course. The 10-22 recommended hood is horrible and these other

two options are much smaller, yet have better coverage. They won't work with a FF sensor

though. Apparently, the 63DII hood on a 17-40 will work on a 1.3x sensor as well, but I have

not tried it on my 1D yet. Hope this helps.

I use that function on my 20D all the time. It's not exactly as easy to select the focus

points as I would like, but it works better than scrolling through the focus points with the

click wheel or letting the camera make the choices IMHO. I used to use focus recompose

but tried this function on the 20D and really liked it so I'm excited that it's available on the

5D as well. 45 point autofocus would've been better but the joystick isn't so bad.

Depends on the kind of work you do and what your ultimate image presentation is. Do

you print large? Do you need 8 fps? Do you use teles or wide angles? If you shoot sports,

photojournalism, weddings, etc. I'd suggest the 1D2n. If you shoot landscape, print very

large, value lighter weight, then the 5D may be the ticket. Really, they are built for

different purposes.

So I've been shooting with a sweet little Ebony 23S for around 5 years or so. It's gotten a

new bellows from Hiromi in Japan and he outfitted it with the Horseman angle viewer. I

also acquired a Maxwell screen for it and it focuses just beautifully. No fresnel lines at all

and so smooth to look at even under higher magnification loupes. Lately though, I've

found that I miss the 4x5 proportion that I liked shooting with so much in the earlier days.

The convenience of 120 film is incredible and so is the price of processing though so I'm

torn. I've got a few cases of Velvia 100 from Japan in the freezer too. (The pre-US Velvia

100. It has very similar characteristics to the old Velvia 50 but at 100 speed. It was sold

in Japan but not in the US until recently, but may be a different emulsion.) At any rate, any

comments on whether or not I should make the switch? And, anyone care to offer a trade

of their Ebony 4x5 for my Ebony 23S with Maxwell screen and Horseman Angle viewer?

I would describe it as a light whirring sound. It's not bad by any means. OTOH, the 20D is

much louder than the 10D. I would call the focusing of the Tamron 28-75 XR Di louder

than the sound of the IS to give you an idea of the volume.

I have a Horseman angle viewer that was purchased from and modified by Hiromi at Ebony

Camera in Japan for my 23S. He removes the ground glass in the viewer and cuts notches

to make it attach to the back of the Ebony. The back of the camera is required for Hiromi

to make some modifications to attach the viewer. It's all done by hand and shows it a bit.

There's flat black paint used on the angle viewer and it's not perfectly machined, but it's

done fairly well I guess. Email me if you want more info.

The Maha Powerex 2500 NiMH batteries are supposedly pretty good from the reviews.

You might want to check those out as an option.

I've done some testing with one 17-40L and 2 copies of the 10-22. One of my 10-22's

was soft. Very soft... In fact, I had to take it to Canon and have them replace some of the

elements. After that I got good results. The other 10-22 was reportedly sharp so I

bought it and was not disappointed. It equalled my 17-40L in almost every setting. I

wound up selling the 17-40L and one of the 10-22's in favor of the sharp 10-22 that I

had. Recently, I picked up another 17-40L in anticipation of a full frame camera

acquisition though. If you plan on using cameras with the 1.6x sensor I'd recommend the

10-22. It performs as well as the 17-40L in my tests. Plus it's much wider and has no

overlap with your 24-70L. If you have a big email box I can send you samples of my

testing.

I differ from the above comment. I had a GA645zi as my travel camera and used it to

shoot weddings as well, before I got my 10D a few years back. Although the camera has a

very limited focal range, it did very well for wedding work. You just have to work within

the limitations of the camera.

The flash is useless, but the camera syncs at all speeds since the lens has a leaf shutter. I

used it with a Sunpak 120J for excellent results.

The focal range is ok but limited. If you don't expect it to work like a 28-105mm on a

35mm format then you should be ok. It's kind of a luxury to have a zoom at all shooting

medium format. When I shot Hasselblads I only used a 50, 80 and 150 with the occasional

use of a 250. The zoom on the zi isn't "smooth". It has stops at different focal lengths

like 55, 65, 75, 90 if I remember correctly. The lens is also very slow, so I wouldn't expect

great bokeh or shallow DOF.

The manual focus is junk. You have to select a distance on a digital readout to focus. It's

not really manual focus as you and I are used to. I found that the autofocus worked out

great for me though so I didn't miss it at all.

It's also very lightweight and built strongly. I think it has a titanium frame. And it can

print your exposure info on the film above the frame. Very convenient. All in all, I found

it to be a great solution for wedding work, especially during the reception. If you're

shooting medium format I'd recommend this camera if it's priced below $800. Anything

over that and you're overpaying IMHO. It is what it is. If you're willing to live within it's

limitations it should provide excellent image quality with sharpness, contrast and ease of

use.