Re: Photography Thread
 

Ive since found a quick way through lightroom. 250 pictures going through one by one would take forever.

http://th08.deviantart.net/fs70/300W...lfgang8810.jpg

Re: Photography Thread
 

I need help from my fellow photographers in choosing my next lens purchase. I know may of you shoot canon and your input is still much appreciated.

Let me tell you what I shoot. I find myself working in tight spaces most of the time. Landscapes and wild life make up the majority of my photography although i see doors opening towards portraiture and cityscapes. Trees capture my interest more often than not.

I currently have

28mm f2.8
35mm f1.8
50mm f1.8
18-55 f3.5-5.6
55-200 F4.5-5.6


Lenses Im looking into are

Tokina 11-16 f2.8
Nikon 12-24 f4
Nikon 85mm f3.5 macro
Nikon 105mm f2.8 macro

Re: Photography Thread
 

I assume you're shooting a cropped body. When I got my 10-22mm for my cropped body it opened brand new horizons. I would definitely look closely at one of the first two super wides.

Re: Photography Thread
 

What do you think of 3rd party lenses? I'm hesittant because iv only dealt with on brand stuff and I'm not sure I want to go down that path. Its so tempting though because the Tokina is 300$ less than the Nikon. But I wouldn't mind paying more for something that will last me 20 years.

Re: Photography Thread
 

Depends on the lens. Some 3rd party lenses are as good or better than their equivalents, others not so much. Tokina 11-16 is much loved by Canon crop shooters because no fast equivalent exists from Canon. Also newer sigma lenses compare very favorably to Canon's offerings. However, I can't speak directly to Nikon since I don't have personal experience with their lenses. I will say though, 3rd party lenses seem to be getting better and better, and you should be afraid of them just because they aren't Nikon/Canon, etc. I'm sure no one would reject Leica/Zeiss glass merely because it's a 3rd party lens.

Re: Photography Thread
 

If I could get a zeiss for 300 dollars less then on brand that wouldn't be an issue and their lenses have a far better track reccord than some of the other 3rd parties. The sigma 50mm1.4 is presst sweet too. Think ill go with the Tokina from adorama there have been too many positive reviews to be wrong. Only thing I think will bother me is the limited zoom. We'll see.

Re: Photography Thread
 

I know that the Tokina lenses I've looked at for my Nikon range from crap on their low end, to some really nice lenses on the high end. All three of those Nikon lenses you listed are very nice lenses. The only reason I would go with the Tokina wide angle over the Nikon wide angle is the lower aperature.

A website that has always been my favorite to see comparisons of lenses is http://www.dpreview.com/ and specifically their Nikon SLR lens discussion page.

Just doing a quick search for the Tokina 11-16 yielded these two interesting threads with some picture examples:

Thread 1 w/ pictures

Thread 2

Edit: As noted in one of those threads, with the Tokina lens you're basically getting a lens that will perform at about 95% of the picture quality as the Nikon, but for $300 cheaper. Worth it in my opinion.

Re: Photography Thread
 

read read read http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/

I've had mixed results. I currently have a sigma 14mm 2.8 aspherical that I love. I had a few Sigma tele zooms before it that I hated. BUT the key factors are WHY I hated em, and if that applies to you.

At the time I was doing journalism, sports, and a few weddings. FAST AF was critical, and the Sigma HSM couldn't hold a candle to the AF speed of my my other Canon USM lenses. ALSO, Sigma lenses rotate the opposite direction to zoom in and out from Canon lenses, which is a pain in the ass if you're a canon shooter, and totally cool if you're a Nikon shooter!

Re: Photography Thread
 

I stopped being a "pixel peeper" long ago. Add in a little post sharpening and the viewer will NEVER know the difference. (
(obviously it has to be decent, that doesn't mean a kit lens will get the job done!!! but I agree that 95% is "close enough".)

Re: Photography Thread
 

Re: Photography Thread
 

My Dad just bought a Canon 16-35 f2.8 L.

<------ is jealous.


-Mark.

Re: Photography Thread
 

I LOVE that lens. Definitely on my wish list.

Closeup portraits with that lens can product stunning results given the right backdrop.

Re: Photography Thread
 

Awesome lens! I couldn't swing that one, so I compromised and picked up a older model 17-35L 2.8 a while back, and it has served me well. I don't notice the missing 1mm difference too much because I also have a sigma 14mm 2.8 aspherical prime.

Re: Photography Thread
 

Just gotta watch out for perspective issues when shooting portraits with a wide-angle lens.

Re: Photography Thread
 

DxO will correct any and all lens distortion issues.

Re: Photography Thread
 

I wasn't refering to lens distortion, I was referring to perspective issues which are affected by the camera's distance relative to the subject, which is a different issue. The reason a headshot done with a wide angle lens will make the nose appear abnormally large is because of it's closer distance to the sensor relative to the rest of the face. Compression which occurs when the distance to the subject is greater can have a pleasing effect on the face in portraiture. This is not to say wide angle portraits can't be done, but just to make people aware of another consideration in doing so.

Re: Photography Thread
 

This is very true. I have been working in Photoshop (at work) for 25 years.
When I watch some tutorials or read people's suggestions-instructions, I often think,
"WHAT??" WTF is he talking about, the WHAT tool?" That's the beauty of Photoshop.
You do with it what you need to do with it and very little else. It's a thousand
different programs in that way. Things exist in there that I have no clue about,
cause I don't use them in my work. That said, I am as fast as anyone in Photoshop
and can produce great work.
My way, lol.

Re: Photography Thread
 

;) :tu

Same story for me. Learned PS as a kid (still am a kid I guess), thought I knew it... then went to work for a newspaper, learned a different set of stuff.... then went to work for myself doing weddings, learned another set of techniques. I'm pretty good in PS, so that means I know 5% of the program. The really good people know 10% of it :tg

Re: Photography Thread
 

Picked up an old Sears 135mm f/2.8 in m42 mount and a cheap adapter. Here are a few shots:

First the lens:
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1297/...0bdbc84620.jpg

Sample shots:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4070/...c82de83807.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1284/...b295e1af49.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4042/...03278a3b82.jpg

Re: Photography Thread
 

Nice! :tu

what did that package cost you?

Re: Photography Thread
 

I think right around $35 including shipping and the adapter. I've started getting into these manual focus lenses because they're ridiculously cheap compared to AF ones.

Re: Photography Thread
 

DxO will still fix it. Perspective issues like nose bulging is still distortion.

Re: Photography Thread
 

Yes, but it is the specific type of distortion that matters. Can it be fixed in photoshop? Sometimes, but it depends on the quality of the distortion: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perspec..._(photography)
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/...d.php?t=672913

Pincushioning and Barrel distortion are easily corrected and are usually corrected. Compression and perspective distortion caused by focal length are different and cannot be as easily adapted in post processing. Now I'm not familiar with DxO, so I'm not sure of it's capabilities, but I still think it would be difficult to change the relative sizes of background items based on the focal length of the lens, though I haven't tried so it might be easier than I think.

Re: Photography Thread
 

DxO has separate modules that you have to download for each different camera body and lens. Where it reads the meta data and has the algorithms to stretch the picture for pincushion, barrel, fisheye, perspective, chromatic aberration, and color.

before
http://www.kenrockwell.com/dv/2007/i...8/IMG_3607.jpg


after
http://www.kenrockwell.com/dv/2007/i...7-badwater.jpg

Re: Photography Thread
 

Great lens!

My next lens will be a 135 f2 L.

Re: Photography Thread
 

I had that one for a while, ended up using the 85 1.8 more.... BUT at the time I was shooting cropped bodies. Now that I shoot 5D's, I wish I had the 145 2L back :)

Re: Photography Thread
 

Re: Photography Thread
 

Nice Ken. Creamy smooth background too. :tu

Re: Photography Thread
 

I have no idea what you are talking about but I really like both photos.

Re: Photography Thread
 

Thanks Bro!
My actual pics are sharper than the hosted ones but still not to bad.

Re: Photography Thread
 

They are both the same photo, taken with the same lens. A program called DxO automatically turned the fisheye photo into a regular photo :)

Re: Photography Thread
 

got a nikon 50mm 1.8 in the mail today. love it.

Re: Photography Thread
 

Awesome Evan. The 1.8 will open up new possibilities but make sure to vary your aperture to see all the different styles a nifty fifty has for you.

Pics or it diddnt happen.

My nifty fifty (canon) is my favorite lens and the cheapest. Go figure.
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Re: Photography Thread
 

50 mm has the classic field of view that most of us are indoctrinated with. On a crop sensor they are closer to 75mm though:( which is why my 35mm 1.8 hasn't been off my camera in a few months. The classic view rules

Re: Photography Thread
 

I like mine (yup I have a cropped sensor :() because it's the sharpest and fastest lens I have. The paper thin depth of field is fantastic.

Re: Photography Thread
 

Re: Photography Thread
 

Can I play guys?!? :D

Purchased the new Sony Nex3. Wanted something that would give me the DSLR feel in a more compact form. Really love this camera. Still trying to figure out all the bells and whistles.

Re: Photography Thread
 

I'll play. I'm a newbie and haven't really been able to get out anywhere since I can't drive at the moment. Can't wait until I am able to. I just got a Nikon D3000 though. Always looking for good criticism to improve.

Shutter Speed: 2/1 second
Aperture: F/5.6
Focal Length: 200 mm
ISO Speed: 100
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4119/...b02880f0_b.jpg

Shutter Speed: 1/30 second
Aperture: F/5.0
Focal Length: 38 mm
ISO Speed: 100
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4021/...9791695a_b.jpg

Shutter Speed: 1 second
Aperture: F/5.3
Focal Length: 45 mm
ISO Speed: 400
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4028/...e7af28fb_b.jpg

Shutter Speed: 1/250 second
Aperture: F/8.0
Focal Length: 55 mm
ISO Speed: 100
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1406/...1fec1009_b.jpg

Re: Photography Thread
 

I like em. Specially The pooch and the bottle ccap.
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Re: Photography Thread
 

Nice Stuff man. I got my D3000 a couple months ago. It does what i need. love it.

Re: Photography Thread
 

Buddy of mine has Nikon D30 (I think, full frame for sure) that he actually lets me borrow. Problem is that my Canon T1i is quite frankly a frustrating let down now. :( might be time to upgrade.

Re: Photography Thread
 

Here's a few from the weekend:

http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/...i/DSC00023.jpg

http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/...i/DSC00112.jpg
**sunset at the drive in was amazing last night. Had to snap a few pics.

Re: Photography Thread
 

Summer is in full swing. Would anyone like to restart the weekend Photo competition?

Re: Photography Thread
 

Great Idea but perhaps make it a week long instead of a weekend. Just a thought. :)

Re: Photography Thread
 

alright. Weekly photo competition :D

Re: Photography Thread
 

As mentioned earlier in the thread my Sister asked me to take her pictures and I thought I would throw up one of the better ones. Might post more. The original is considerably sharper but you get the idea.
Both the bride and the groom were very pleased and in there words "Your pictures are better than many of the pictures from the pro's that sent us examples" I took about 1000 pics and narrowed it down to about 200 good ones. Many were dups of the same scene to ensure that I got a good one.

It was esentially a non stop 7 hours or so. I did stop to eat (15-20 Mins) and there was a little wait time (20 mins appx) for her to get ready. I noticed that alot of it was not just the technical aspect (taking a properly exposed and composed shot) but the personable aspect, that is getting them to smile and getting there attention so I could take a good picture.

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_6Ij_CVeMmBw/TC...IMG_2153-1.JPG

Re: EQUIPMENT Question Sunpak 555
 

Don't plug it in via hot shoe but you can use a PC chord easy peasy. That is how we do with our cameras that we use to shoot graduations. It does mean you have to control the flash manually, but those flashes won't talk to your camera anyway, so you are in manual regardless.

Re: Photography Thread
 

Here are few as soon as i get my photo radar page up and going i'll show more then.

Re: Photography Thread
 

Quiero ver mas fotos!