The Official Head-Case Photography Thread.

[VPI]

I got notice yesterday that the D4 release has been delayed at least a month and that numbers will be very low early in the release. At this point I could probably have the D800 before I get a D4.

I did get the Nikon 70-200 last night. Once again, I prefer the Canon version in fit and finish. I will have to try it out this weekend to see how it stands up in image quality.

[Iron_Dreamer]

Yeah, trying to be an early adopter is almost never fun. Just think of all those poor schmucks trying to get NEX7's for the last few months. Hopefully the D4 and D800 won't be that bad of a debacle, but judging from Nikon's recent history (even pre-2011 natural disasters), they'll probably be fairly hard to come by for a while.

[falkon]

You picking up the new 24-70, Jeff?

[VPI]

Nope, I am only using primes on the 5D mk II. I am also unloading the 1D IV as I do not really like using it as much as the pro Nikon body.

[Jon L]

From Seed..

Seed by drjlo1, on Flickr

To Fruit..

IMG_8983 by drjlo1, on Flickr

[VPI]

That is some serious macro. I am playing with my Macro lens but nothing very interesting.

100% Crop

Such a narrow depth of view.

Edited February 10, 2012 by VPI

[Jon L]

Such a narrow depth of view.

It's kind of ironic that shallow DOF so treasured for normal portrait photography becomes the bane of Macro photography.

My first photo above was with ambient light, shot at f/13 for a semi-decent DOF, which resulted in shutter of 5 sec!, even after bumping up the iso to 800. At 2x magnification and such shutter speeds, having the mirror up and NOT touching the camera was imperative. Luckily, this little remote shutter release is like $4..

canonremote by drjlo1, on Flickr

Edited February 10, 2012 by Jon L

[Iron_Dreamer]

DigitalRev on the Canon G1X "tweenercam"

Edited February 10, 2012 by Iron_Dreamer

[catscratch]

Lenses are more important than bodies. I'd stay with the lenses you prefer. Granted, I doubt there's much practical difference between the C/N 70-200 2.8 II's. If you like f/1.2, fully usable tilt-shift lenses, and countless telephoto options, Canon is the place.

This.

The whole Canon vs Nikon thing is a constant game of leapfrog, and switching to one or the other depending on who's ahead at the moment is a sure-fire way to waste money needlessly. Stick with whatever lens family you've invested in.

36mp is completely unnecessary unless you need to make wall-sized prints. The lack of a low-pass filter though is very cool, though with a 4fps continuous shooting speed this is obviously only a studio/landscape camera.

I'm more interested in the 1Dx, or I would be if I could afford needed one.

Edited February 11, 2012 by catscratch

[Jon L]

Dew and Kid

World Within II by drjlo1, on Flickr

[blessingx]

Some Fuji X-Pro1 shots & thoughts: http://bit.ly/ykQXxQ

[Jon L]

My own photo scared me today.

This one I call "There Will Be Blood."

"There Will Be Blood" by drjlo1, on Flickr

[VPI]

Took the new 70-200 out for some play on a cold afternoon.

Mostly just shot the local wildlife.

Also one of the old standby, the Freedom Tower

[crappyjones123]

i recently got a sigma 30/1.4 for nikon. with manual focusing i am getting fairly sharp images but with af i haven't really gotten any images where the focus was where i wanted it to be.

on a shelf with af with focus point on the bottle closest to the camera -

http://imgur.com/Ke2R7

on a shelf with af with focus point on the bottle farther away from the camera -

http://imgur.com/KOEPt

with mf, hand held using live view -

http://imgur.com/BAfsQ

all shots were taken wide open in aperture mode but the results have been the same with the lens stopped down and in other shooting modes. all the shots were indoors but outdoors i have back focusing issues as well on all shots.

the nikon 35/1.8 lens i was shooting for the past week with is not as sharp nor does it give as nice colors but it focuses accurately so i know the body is ok.

i pmed the seller and am waiting for a reply but what are my options if he doesn't offer any help

[Jon L]

i recently got a sigma 30/1.4 for nikon. with manual focusing i am getting fairly sharp images but with af i haven't really gotten any images where the focus was where i wanted it to be.

i pmed the seller and am waiting for a reply but what are my options if he doesn't offer any help

Sorry to hear that, but after my last fiasco with Sigma lens on Canon body, I simply will not buy another Sigma lens unless: A. I can return to seller, B. It's under Sigma warranty to fix any AF issues, or C. I can personally test the lens with my body before buying.

[Iron_Dreamer]

I've only had one experience with the Sigma 30/1.4. It wouldn't autofocus well at all on a D80, but it worked spot-on perfect on a D700 (even though it's not an FX lens).

[Cankin]

Very common problem among some Sigma lenses, is yours still under warranty? I've read that Sigma will calibrate your lens for your camera if you send both to them.

If it is out of warranty, does your camera support AF micro adjust?? If it does, try this http://michaeltapesd....com/store.html

[crappyjones123]

body is a d7000. it does have af micro adjust but the option doesn't highlight with the sigma lens. it does so with the nikon lens however. ill look in the manual again today in case i did something wrong but it didn't let me go into the option last night.

purchased it on fm from a guy with good feedback so hopefully things can be resolved. it wasn't cheap (not for me at least) and i would prefer not to buy more gear just to get this to work correctly.

[nikongod]

If it is out of warranty, does your camera support AF micro adjust?? If it does, try this http://michaeltapesd....com/store.html

You can make something that works about as well as this pretty easily.

Put a ruler on the floor

Fold a piece of paper half twice so it will stand up at a 45* angle

Draw an Arrow in the bottom corner with the tip of the arrow right in the corner.*

Put the paper next to the middle of the ruler

Set your camera& tripod up so you get a nice 45* angle on this thingy and snap away

Nice and easy.

*I like to note stuff like which lens I'm using, what aperture, camera body, where I thought I was focusing (focus on 18inch mark, for example) distance from camera to target, etc. Most of that info is in the EXIF data with digital, but I find it faster to just read a slip of paper than to open the EXIF and search for what I want to see... and it works with film.

[VPI]

You can make something that works about as well as this pretty easily.

Put a ruler on the floor

Fold a piece of paper half twice so it will stand up at a 45* angle

Draw an Arrow in the bottom corner with the tip of the arrow right in the corner.*

Put the paper next to the middle of the ruler

Set your camera& tripod up so you get a nice 45* angle on this thingy and snap away

Nice and easy.

*I like to note stuff like which lens I'm using, what aperture, camera body, where I thought I was focusing (focus on 18inch mark, for example) distance from camera to target, etc. Most of that info is in the EXIF data with digital, but I find it faster to just read a slip of paper than to open the EXIF and search for what I want to see... and it works with film.

How do you know when the central point is lined up? On the Lensalign you have to focus though the center hole onto a target behind it as that lines up the lens, etc. with the ruler perfectly. Seemed kind of fidgety to me so I did not use it much.

[crappyjones123]

Seller claims camera shake is throwing off the auto focus as the lens was fine with him. I dont understand how that makes sense when the af shots were taken with the camera on a cement platform and shit was blurry when the hand held shot with manual focus was much better...

Thoughts?

Ari, I'll try the suggested when I get home tomorrow.

[nikongod]

I just focus on the edge of the ruler.

[Salt Peanuts]

Seller claims camera shake is throwing off the auto focus as the lens was fine with him. I dont understand how that makes sense when the af shots were taken with the camera on a cement platform and shit was blurry when the hand held shot with manual focus was much better...

Thoughts?

Ari, I'll try the suggested when I get home tomorrow.

One lens that autofocuses accurately with one camera body may not be as accurate with another body (even of same model) due to manufacturing tolerances for both lens and body. Before AF micro adjustment became a fairly common feature, the only way for you to get a particular lens to autofocus perfectly (or as close to it) with a particular body was to send them both in to their manufacture to get them calibrated.

I say send it in to Sigma to get the lens calibrated, with the camera if you can afford to be without it for a while.

Edited February 14, 2012 by Salt Peanuts

[Jon L]

My Speedotron 22" white, grooved beauty dish arrived. VERY nice. A couple of shots with the cheaper 22" silver ePhoto beauty dish.

ePhoto and Speedotron 22" Beauty Dish (back) by drjlo1, on Flickr

ePhoto and Speedotron 22" Beauty Dish by drjlo1, on Flickr

[crappyjones123]

Lightroom 3 for 70 bucks on bh today.