PF Photography: Tips, Tricks, & Photo Sharing

[turbo]

Nice work Turbo, I'll have a closer look at that glass. Actually I was contemplating the primes since it's the sharpest you can get, especially in the 100mm range.

I was considering a prime, too with the intent of getting a fast macro, and then this lens came up with a 30D body as a new-but-out-of-box combo from a store at a really good price so I snagged it. It's great for sunny days, and 18" focus at 135mm (plus the crop factor of the smaller chip) magnifies things pretty well.

When I was shooting film, I would drag around several OM-1s and an OM-4, all loaded with fast primes. That's a lot of gear to take care of. The quality of the Canon zooms let's me pare down to two lenses on two bodies to cover 28-400mm (plus the kit lens if I want to go down to 18mm)

 

[Andre]

I was considering a prime, too with the intent of getting a fast macro, and then this lens came up with a 30D body as a new-but-out-of-box combo from a store at a really good price so I snagged it. It's great for sunny days, and 18" focus at 135mm (plus the crop factor of the smaller chip) magnifies things pretty well.

When I was shooting film, I would drag around several OM-1s and an OM-4, all loaded with fast primes. That's a lot of gear to take care of. The quality of the Canon zooms let's me pare down to two lenses on two bodies to cover 28-400mm (plus the kit lens if I want to go down to 18mm)

Granted but if you want to see the facets/ compounds of the butterflies eyes then the zoom may be disappointing. I did a direct comparison here.

Hover over the arrow on top of the crop to toggle between the two and see why I still think about the prime, although it's more expensive and sadly without IS.

 

[turbo]

You're right, of course. One cannot expect the sharpness and lack of CA of a nice prime from an inexpensive zoom. If you're going to do a lot of macro photography, the choice is a clear one. Of course, if I could buy all the lenses that I wanted, I'd have to hire a porter to follow me around carrying cases and gear-bags.

 

[Andre]

Right, so there is the big bag and the small bag carrying only camera with one other lens, and crossing fingers for having selected the right ones.

Also the (slight) advantage of the prime is the 2.8 opening for better focussing and better bokeh for portraits.

 

[turbo]

Also the (slight) advantage of the prime is the 2.8 opening for better focussing and better bokeh for portraits.

That speed can help offset the lack of IS too, if you have enough light to stay with fast shutter speeds.

I've been down this road before and was tempted by the 100mm macro, but when the 28-135 and 30D combo came up new for less than $1000 (including shipping), I had to buy it. It's nice to have the 28-135 on one 30D and the 100-400 on the other. Fewer lens changes = fewer opportunities for dust, pollen, etc to get into the bodies.

 

[TFM]

What is a prime lens. I have an DSLR, but I am unsure what one is...?

TFM

 

[Andre]

What is a prime lens. I have an DSLR, but I am unsure what one is...?

TFM

A prime lens is fixed focus. No zoom. The drawback is obvious but the advantage is that prime lenses are always crisper. For a lot more of terminology go here:

http://www.dpreview.com/learn/?/Glossary/

 

[TFM]

Ah, Thanks for the information/link

TFM

 

[Andre]

That speed can help offset the lack of IS too, if you have enough light to stay with fast shutter speeds.

I've been down this road before and was tempted by the 100mm macro, but when the 28-135 and 30D combo came up new for less than $1000 (including shipping), I had to buy it. It's nice to have the 28-135 on one 30D and the 100-400 on the other. Fewer lens changes = fewer opportunities for dust, pollen, etc to get into the bodies.

Absolutely, ideally you want a single lens and the Panasonic FZ-x8 series is an excellent solution (although the focussing is too slow for action).

But the larger aperture is not helping the exposure in macro situation, you simply have to work between F8 - F16 and have a little more than a paper sheet thick depth of field. So it's always a trade off, flash, sun, tripod, high ISO.

 

[turbo]

Yep! Trade-offs all around. The IS let's me get away with some shots that really shouldn't be hand-held otherwise.

I have an old Bogen tripod, but no head. I put the head on my old Gitzo Pro Studex 412, and later sold it. So all my shots are hand-held, which is OK. Really good, solid tripods are heavy, and that's just one more thing to lug around. I should probably break down and buy a head to get long-exposure shots of streams and waterfalls (which we have in abundance here), surf, etc.

 

[phyzmatix]

Better be really sure if you need one.

I'd go for anything that can shoot RAW and have interchangeable lenses. My point and shoot ALWAYS has either jpg artefacts or a lot of noise (even when shooting manual with low iso). Unless it's your ideal 25 degrees C, sunny day, 5 metres from subject type conditions, it just doesn't do what I'd like it to do.

Oh, and here's another of my creations, a heavily manipulated find from a museum in Lviv, Ukraine:

http://images-2.redbubble.net/img/art/border:noborder/product:mounted-print/size:small/view:preview/373985-6-scratch-this.jpg

 

[Andre]

I'd go for anything that can shoot RAW and have interchangeable lenses. My point and shoot ALWAYS has either jpg artefacts or a lot of noise (even when shooting manual with low iso). Unless it's your ideal 25 degrees C, sunny day, 5 metres from subject type conditions, it just doesn't do what I'd like it to do.

Oh, and here's another of my creations, a heavily manipulated find from a museum in Lviv, Ukraine:

http://images-2.redbubble.net/img/art/border:noborder/product:mounted-print/size:small/view:preview/373985-6-scratch-this.jpg

[/URL]

Nice work.

The Panasonics are all RAW capable and the supporting software includes the http://www.softpedia.com/reviews/windows/SILKYPIX-Review-78117.shtml but noise is a problem for all smaller sensors. One should not use any ISO higher than the basic setting. That's why I moved to the SLR, where image quality at high ISO was the main criterium, since if you want to shoot butterflies and such, you need but small apertures and short shutter speeds, hence you're forced to crank up the ISO or use flash.

 

[brewnog]

Well I've finally got fed up of having to choose between my old Olympus OMs (pain of having to get the film and photos developed!) and my low resolution 'idiot camera' (pain of such little control over the settings), and have treated myself to a nice new shiny Olympus E420 DSLR, with a 14-48mm f3.5 lens. What a fantastic camera. The lens is ok for the price too, but I'm looking at their 'pancake' 25mm f2.8 prime. Still trying to get to grips with the autofocus system but you'll hopefully be seeing a few more of my entries in the photo competition now!

I took this one this morning in the woods up behind my house.

 

[larkspur]

Well I've finally got fed up of having to choose between my old Olympus OMs (pain of having to get the film and photos developed!) and my low resolution 'idiot camera' (pain of such little control over the settings), and have treated myself to a nice new shiny Olympus E420 DSLR, with a 14-48mm f3.5 lens. What a fantastic camera. The lens is ok for the price too, but I'm looking at their 'pancake' 25mm f2.8 prime. Still trying to get to grips with the autofocus system but you'll hopefully be seeing a few more of my entries in the photo competition now!

I took this one this morning in the woods up behind my house.

Beautiful shot!

 

[turbo]

Well I've finally got fed up of having to choose between my old Olympus OMs (pain of having to get the film and photos developed!) and my low resolution 'idiot camera' (pain of such little control over the settings), and have treated myself to a nice new shiny Olympus E420 DSLR, with a 14-48mm f3.5 lens. What a fantastic camera. The lens is ok for the price too, but I'm looking at their 'pancake' 25mm f2.8 prime. Still trying to get to grips with the autofocus system but you'll hopefully be seeing a few more of my entries in the photo competition now!

I took this one this morning in the woods up behind my house.

Very nice! I hope you have fun with the new gear.

I sold off my OM-1s and OM-4 and primes on eBay years back, got a small digital camera, and waited until the prices of the DSLRs came down to the point where I could jump in. Even so, to get the body and lenses I wanted, I had to sell off a bunch of my antique Winchesters.

 

[brewnog]

Beautiful shot!

Thank you! Freezing my arse off this morning was worth it!

I sold off my OM-1s and OM-4 and primes on eBay years back, got a small digital camera, and waited until the prices of the DSLRs came down to the point where I could jump in.

Well I've kept hold of my OM lenses, and have ordered an adapter such that I may be able to use them on my DSLR. I know the focal lengths will be screwed up and focusing may be tricky, but those old OM lenses aren't even worth selling now and it pains me just to lock them away never to be used again. It might not work, but the adapter is only a few pounds so I thought I'd try it.

 

[Andre]

Congrats, Brewnog, a lot of bang for the buck, see the review here. For this one, it's advised to either turn the noise filter off or shoot in raw to avoid too much loss of detail.

 

[turbo]

Thank you! Freezing my arse off this morning was worth it!



Well I've kept hold of my OM lenses, and have ordered an adapter such that I may be able to use them on my DSLR. I know the focal lengths will be screwed up and focusing may be tricky, but those old OM lenses aren't even worth selling now and it pains me just to lock them away never to be used again. It might not work, but the adapter is only a few pounds so I thought I'd try it.

Good luck! Some of my old Zuicko primes were hard to part with... 24mm, 50mm (f:1.2 and f:1.4), 135mm were all good performers.

 

[Andre]

Good luck! Some of my old Zuicko primes were hard to part with... 24mm, 50mm (f:1.2 and f:1.4), 135mm were all good performers.

Anybody care for a Minolta MD11 set? From 1978, first electronic camera with shutter speed adjustment when the light was to low for the largest aperture. The lenses are worthless for Minolta/Sony A-type, nowadays.

 

[Borek]

Thank you! Freezing my arse off this morning was worth it!

Definitely!

 

[~christina~]

I took this one this morning in the woods up behind my house.

Nice shot! Was there natural fog there?

I wish I had such nice scenery.

 

[brewnog]

Nice shot! Was there natural fog there?

I wish I had such nice scenery.

The fog was entirely natural! Bloody freezing it was too.

Don't be so downhearted about the lack of scenery, you can find the prettiest landscapes in the strangest of places. I have a great series of photos stashed away (not digital, sorry!) taken in industrial wastelands; cooling towers, steelworks, abandoned warehouses etc. Just go out with a camera and an open mind.

 

[Andre]

On the short list are the Canon EF 100mm USM Macro and the Tamron 90mm Macro. Suggestions anybody?

Well the first one won. I just unpacked and tried it.

To the left the full frames on 10%, to the right 100% crops (red rectangles). The first shot is a small candle holder on a comfortable butterfly distance. The second the details on 1:1 magification (on the sensor). The lower crop is about 1-2 mm in real size.

 

[TFM]

That is most impressive. Well Done

TFM

 

[Borek]

To compare:

That's my 75-300 mm with a lens, not sure about magnification, but that's just crop of the original image (full frame visible here):

Upper image scale must be similar to Andre's lower crop.

 

[turbo]

Well the first one won. I just unpacked and tried it.

To the left the full frames on 10%, to the right 100% crops (red rectangles). The first shot is a small candle holder on a comfortable butterfly distance. The second the details on 1:1 magification (on the sensor). The lower crop is about 1-2 mm in real size.

Congrats, Andre! Watch out, butterflies!

 

[Andre]

Thanks,

This is a screen shot or "print screen"

Notice that the greens are crisp and the reds are not

 

[turbo]

Thanks,

This is a screen shot or "print screen"

Notice that the greens are crisp and the reds are not

Interesting that the blue and green pixels terminate rather cleanly at top and bottom, and the reds seem to bloom, giving them rounded-looking ends.

 

[phyzmatix]

Notice that the greens are crisp and the reds are not

Chromatic aberration?

 

[Andre]

exactly

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/47/Lens6a.svg/415px-Lens6a.svg.png

 

[Borek]

Foggy evening and two dollars laser pointer.

It doesn't look like that, but it was lying on the camera, about 6 to 7 centimeters from the lens center.

 

[turbo]

Foggy evening and two dollars laser pointer.

It doesn't look like that, but it was lying on the camera, about 6 to 7 centimeters from the lens center.

Oh, noes! Your laser set that house on fire!

 

[~christina~]

shot that I had sent everyone on their postcards.

http://img372.imageshack.us/img372/9639/sunrisekx7.jpg

 

[Borek]

It is a very nice picture that was badly printed (all PF postcarders know what I mean).

 

[Borek]

Playing with laser pointer part two.