The Official Head-Case Photography Thread.

[VPI]

Spent the morning at B&H. I have not been there since they opened up the whole second floor and dedicated it to Photography. I could spend a lot of money on the second floor there. Ended up getting a Gitzo 1780 tripod head, 2x16gb SanDisk Extreme CF cards and a bunch of generic BP-511A batteries.

[Knuckledragger]

I have never been to B&H. That is probably good thing, for my future credit rating.

One shot from this weekend's madness (which is still unfolding):

This guy (I think his name is Dante?) plunked down a Moog Prodigy and Line6 effects processor next to the DJ around 6:30 in the morning, and played riffs and pads for the next several hours. There really is nothing like a genuine analogue synth line as the sun is coming up.

[Salt Peanuts]

I found a 58mm Canon 500D close-up lens in wife's old camera bag, so I put it on 75-300mm and tried it out. The result was full of operator errors.

First, it took me a while to figure out the rather narrow focusing distance range. Then, after figuring out the said range, I couldn't keep my hand steady enough or use high enough shutter speed to get any decent close-up pics. A nice stable tripod would've been nice, I think.

I may try it out on 85mm f/1.8 (another lens I have with 58mm filter size) as I may get a better result with a lighter lens.

Edited May 16, 2010 by Salt Peanuts

[naamanf]

Naaman, the desert dwellers were really cool to see. Are there many living out in the wild like that?

Not a lot but enough that it still amazes me when we run into them in the middle of nowhere.

The nothing that is the desert.

[falkon]

The season finale of House was shot entirely with the 5D mk II.

[penger]

Shot this today with a circular polarizer on my lens... the sky looks kinda cool but I'm not really sure how to or even if to post process it. Also pissed I missed a fucking eagle/hawk that flew by not 30ft above me... didn't get it because I wasn't ready.

[nikongod]

[Salt Peanuts]

So I recently ordered an 8x12 print of same photo from both AdoramaPix and ezprints. I went with those two places since they were two of few places that offered 8x12 size. Below are my experiences from the whole process -

• Ordering process was fairly painless from both places, though AdoramaPix interface was slow as molasses for me.
  
• Ezprints was wee bit cheaper. The prints were made on same paper (Kodak Pro Endura).
  
• Shipping cost was also cheaper with ezprints, $1.75 vs. $4.99 for AdoramaPix both using the cheapest shipping option.
  
• Both provided e-mail copy of the receipt, but only AdoramaPix provided any tracking information (I guess the extra shipping cost helps here).
  
• Packaging - AdoramaPix placed the print face down on a thin foam shrink-wrapped to a cardboard, which was packed in a rigid box. Ezprints placed the print in a clear plastic bag and used a small poster tube for packaging. I much prefer the packaging of AdoramaPix as the print doesn't roll up into a tube. Neither place offered options on packaging that I could see during the ordering process.
  
• The print from the AdramaPix was much closer to what I see on my monitor. To be fair, my monitor isn't really calibrated so this probably could have gone either way.
  

[VPI]

Got all the gear packed up for a short road trip tomorrow to Bear Mountain State Park so I can do some shooting to get familiar with the 50d before trying to shoot the Rolex Grand Prix race on Memorial Day at Lime Rock Park. Been a while since I did any nature/landscape shooting so I am trying to decide on the lenses. I think the 100-400L, 24-70L and the 135L will go and maybe the 17-40L for vistas but that is probably overkill with the 24-70. I almost need a suitcase to carry all the glass.

[Knuckledragger]

All of those lenses are nice, but make sure you really want the 100-400L. At the short end, its performance is weak by L standards (and not great by "normal" standards). It is a heavy piece of glass (over 3 lbs) and a push-pull zoom. Certainly, nothing else covers the range of focal lengths as well as the 100-400L, but personally, I'd rather have a 70-200 F/4 IS and maybe a 300mm or 400mm prime, later. YMMV, of course, but deffo try out the lens (try to rent it for a day or two) before you cough up for it.

The 17-40L wins on full frame, APS-C, and APS-H sensors. It's also a "bargain" by L standards. I'd start with it.

[VPI]

Yeah the weight isa concern. I do not have any of the big primes at the moment so the 100-400 is my biggest zoom. I could take the 70-200 with the extender and probably have everything I need I just wanted to get used to the 100-400 as I have rarely used it since buying it a few years ago and thought it would be nice at the track.

[Knuckledragger]

Reading comprehension fail on my part. I didn't parse that you already owned all of the abovementioned glass (hey, I was in a nightclub at the time.) In that case, maybe it is a good idea to lug the 100-400L, so you can get a chance to put it through its paces.

[episiarch]

Anybody have an opinion on the Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF? I'm thinking it would make a nice available light & portrait lens for baby pictures, and seems like a bargain at $125.

[agile_one]

Michael ... the Nikon 50 f/1.8 is a great lens, as is it's Canon counterpart. Well worth the $$$, and a screaming bargain compared to any other Nikon glass. Sharp, small and light to carry, and a joy to use. Once you have one, I'll wager you won't part with it. A little short for portrait on FF, but very good on DX. Not the otherworldly bokeh of the 85 1.4, but similar to the 85 1.8

It feels a bit cheap and plastic like, but don't let that deter you. The glass is for real, and that's what counts.

[episiarch]

Super, thank you! (Yep, shooting DX so I figured it'd be about right.)

[VPI]

Well both my plan and my back-up plan fell through today so all I managed to do was go for a walk at sunset to catch the storm coming in. If it does not rain all day tomorrow I intend to make it over to B&H for some Prime lens shopping.

[Iron_Dreamer]

Super, thank you! (Yep, shooting DX so I figured it'd be about right.)

Yeah, any possible criticisms of the lens are leveled by its' low price. Sure, the f/1.4 options have better performance below f/2.8, and nicer bokeh, but they are ~3x as expensive. Not to mention much larger; the 50 1.8 is a just a touch bigger than a pancake lens. My preferred stealth FX kit is this lens plus the Sigma 15mm fisheye.

[episiarch]

Sounds like it will work out perfectly for me. Thanks, guys.

Now feeling tempted to buy it now in the UK instead of waiting until my US trip in August. Not as cheap here, but still quite reasonable. Hm.

[agile_one]

Jeff ... more great city shots. Beautiful light in the skyline, and I think I recognize a ConEd power plant in the 2nd, yes? 14th Street, or Waterside?

[VPI]

Thanks Gene. That is actually the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad Powerhouse which is going to eventually become a giant arts location to celebrate the history of artists in this part of JC.

[Salt Peanuts]

Took a walk around Lowell yesterday and went out for a walk today at a local state park. We had to cut the walk today short since we were being eaten alive by mosquitoes.

[Knuckledragger]

I like the view-through-the-columns shot, Salty. I might try it at -1/3 or -2/3 EV, however. The columns themselves wouldn't suffer from being darker, and you'd get more detail on the building behind.

I went and saw a local 2-piece band last Thursday. The shots of them weren't very interesting, but afterward I took a few pix of my friend Alyssa outside the bar.

17-40L @ 23mm, F/4, 1/30th, ISO1250. 30D's white balance was set to fluorescent. No edits at all.

[Salt Peanuts]

i like that.

x2.

So the flickr plug-in on my Lightroom decided to randomly update/re-publish few pics even though I hadn't made any changes (thus the broken links few posts up).

Anyhow, I fiddled around with the view-through-the-columns shot as per Knuckle's suggestion using Lightroom and below is the result. I like it better now.

[VPI]

I prefer the follow-up picture as well. I am going to have to start sending all my first attempts to Knuckles for advice.

What do you think about Lightroom? I have let my Photoshop software get out of date, CS, and now I would have to pay full price to get the new version so I am going to decide between Lightroom and Aperture.

[agile_one]

I really like LightRoom. I've never used Aperture.

Maybe we should compare notes at CJ, Jacob?