SLR Camera Hints

[STANKY J]

Thanks Mick for making this thread ive been looking around for a camera also. after reading A13x's post i went out to Harvey Norman and got myself a 50D and love it!.

[A13x]

Good to hear Stanky

I'm currently in the process of picking a new lens or two, currently use the following:

EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro
EF 24-105mm f/4 USM L IS (General Purpose Landscape zoom)
EF 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 USM L IS (General Purpose Tele Zoom)
EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 USM L IS (Action Tele Zoom/Airshow Lens)

Now I'm trying to decide between going for the following, with around $1300 to spare.

MP-E 65mm Macro - $1357


A really unique super macro lens, most macros, including my current 100mm zoom to 1:1, or 1x, which means a photo of a grain of rice, would put it covering as much of the photo as it would if I put it on the 36x24mm sensor of my 5D II. With this one, it can go between 1x, 2x, 3x, 4x, and 5x settings, at maximum zoom, the grain of rice would fill the entire frame.

The creative and unreal photos achievable of the world oft overlooked during our busy lives would make for some really interesting shots, and it has been an interest for quite a while.

The disadvantage of this lens would be that my current 580EX speedlite in a lot of cases might not cut it for some of the subjects I would be shooting, bugs especially would require a fast shutter speed to capture nicely, meaning potentially having to invest in a macro ring-lite. Also a close maximum focus distance.

Click the photo below for other examples of cool stuff possible with this lens


The other 3 are all Primes, with the intention of just being able to get some ultra sharp shots, preferably in low light, which is a weakness of my current kit.

EF 135mm f/2.0 L USM - $1305


Now this is a really sharp lens, I was pretty amazed at the clarity of this from sample images I've looked at, and from f/2 and up it's a sight to behold. The Bokeh is pretty superb as you'll see below, as the focal length nicely compliments the wide aperture.

Click below for other Samples


For Close to Mid-distance photos, I can see this lens really doing me some favours, as the detail it gives is incredible, and the focusing is top notch. Every review I have read has praised this with no real flaws, my only concern is that all of my current lenses are close to this focal distance, and for the price, I'm not sure if it will give me a whole lot more than my f/2.8 100mm macro, which is also very good as a general purpose short tele lens.

The Last Option…

…is a combination of the following two:

EF 85mm f/1.8 USM - $543


Good low light 85mm, nice quality photos in a small affordable package, good for indoor use and capable of sharp images, with some purple fringing until about f/4. Very quick and a lot lighter than the f/1.2 85mm which is five times the price.



EF 50mm f/1.8 II - $120


Well, for the price this is supposed to be outstanding, with very sharp focus and good in low light, I've read that it actually outperforms the f/1.4 50mm in terms of clarity. Downfalls are the poorer quality bokeh, and lacking build quality (plastic body and MOUNT), and the inability to coffect focus manually during AF, you have to switch it to MF as AF actually rotates the focusing ring, meaning you have to keep fingers well clear (on the body) if using AF.

But eh, it's $120, and really light and compact, can't complain.

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So yeah, bit of a tough decision, the MP-E 65mm has me enticed for it's creative potential, repelled by the technical possibility of needing better lighting, the 135mm is stunning quality, and would deliver top notch photos but at a reasonably tight FOV (not necessarily a bad thing), but again at a high price, and the 85mm and 50mm f/1.8 combo would get my foot in the door to better photography in low light, with lenses much smaller and lighter than what I currently carry, but at the sacrifice of some image quality, at a very affordable price.

I tend to be pretty broad in terms of my subjects, with wildlife, aviation, product, landscape and macro being the majority of my work, I love experimenting with techniques. Thinking that maybe a smaller lens or two would be better for being able to bring my camera along without the fuss of size getting in the way, though higher quality is really tempting, and the ultra-macro has had me interested for a long time…

Tax time soon woot.
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[lapzod]

As I said on IRC, I think the Macro is the way to go, it looks fantastic, and as you said, it's something you've wanted for a long time, so I say go for it!

As for the 50mm, I have one of them, and it's what I use for my portrait work when I go to Anime conventions, and take photos of cosplayers in doors. It's not perfect, being able to change the focus when in manual is a pain in the behind, but for the $149 I paid for it, it's really good.

[Mick Saige]

That shot of the dragonfly is amazing; honestly man... if you want to do that kind of work, and have the money to do so; you really can't fault that quality.

Stanky I'm really happy with this thread to; it's exactly what i was looking for; also, keep me posted on how you go with the D50, upload a snap or two

[MaTBoY]

Get the Macro and the 50mm. I can't believe you don't already have one :O Best 140 you can spend on a camera. Sure the plasticy body doesn't exude quality, but it gets the job done quite nicely I recommend the cheap fiddy.
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[Puddingfork]

Would there be any Nikkon equivilents of that? Wouldn't mind getting another lens if it's cheap and good.

Currently have an AF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6G IF-ED and the kit lens AF-S DX Nikkor 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR

Also today is really nice, we have a kind of forest bush area across the road, what would you recommend lens and setting wise to take some photos?
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[3mt]

Ar! I seem to have missed this thread.

Anyway, my 2 cents is that in essence, all entry level DLSR's are practically the same (well, the reputable ones anyway).
There are a few niggles here and there regarding image quality, but the most important thing is the camera build.
I personally have the Nikon D5000, and I think it is quite a good camera. It has the same sensor as the D90, which is a step up from the D5000. The only thing that differentiates the D5000 from its more expensive counterpart is its build. It contains more dials and controls that let the user fiddle around with camera settings easier, but in essence, those two cameras take exactly the same photos. Many people are content to pay a few hundred dollars more for the D90 for this extra degree of control.

In terms of the battle between entry level Canon and Nikon cameras, Canon tends to produce more punchy and sharp j-peg images due to a greater default onboard sharpening of images, while Nikon cameras excel at taking RAW photos. But those differences are so minute that I would rate camera ergonomics higher than these few niggles (I learnt this the hard way).
While I'm quite happy with my D5000, its Canon rivals such as the 450d and 500d contest the D5000 because of its ergonomics. Canon low end cameras tend to be more compact and lighter than Nikon ones.
If I were to recommend a low end DSLR to someone, I think I'll go with Canon, solely because it is more compact and lighter.
The 450d, the 500d and the 550d are quite competent cameras. While I would say that Nikon just manages to beat Canon in the low end market with its D5000 and D90 in terms of image quality (arguably), Canon beats Nikon in terms of camera portability and ergonomics. I've seen many people with those cameras, and they are just so light and small compared to my D5000 and the D90. I think my D5000 is just too clunky and heavy to carry out at all times.

I don't really know much about the other camera brands, but I hope I've helped you a bit in deciding what camera to get.

Edit: And Pudds, I agree with Matboy that the 50mm would be the best $140 you've ever spent. Its fast, sharp and cheap. But with your current setup, I'd reckon the 18-105mm would be the best for taking photos of the forest. And there isn't really a prime setting for taking pics of the bush. I went bush walking about a week ago, and I found that some of my best shots came from having a low aperture, zooming in and getting a nice bokeh. If you want to photograph closeups of tree roots or leaves, I would select a low aperture and then zoom in to amplify the bokeh. On the other hand, if you want to take a general picture of the scenery, a high aperture like f/11 would be good. I also found it helpful to fiddle around a bit with the white balance to make the forest light a bit more natural and warm.
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[A13x]

Settled on the 135mm and MP-E65mm Super Macro.

A little concerned about available light with the macro, but we'll address that later based on how big of a problem it is, and it should give me enough time to practice before all the bugs come out

Quite excited about the 135mm, as I've not found any negative response about it, and "metacritic" of lens reviews have it rated 10/10, the only one...

I went out and saw the 50mm f/1.8 at Teds yesterday, but having read numerous customer reviews, I came away feeling the money would be better spent on a top quality prime, as the focus of the reviews seemed to be more about the price and value for money, and lack of build quality (one guy going through 3 over a couple of years due to AF motor fail, another guy using a hood on it, bumping the hood, and the hood falling off, with the front half of the lens still attached ).

My manager at work has the 50mm 1.8, and he's bringing it in on Tues so I can try it out on my body, so that'll be fun.

I couldn't say no to this bokeh, and I've always been favourable of tighter focal lengths, even restrictively so, due to the level of detail.





Eagerly awaiting delivery now
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[Mick Saige]

God damn I love close up pictures of bugs. Be warned; they tend not to stand still for very long.

My aunt is a botanical artist, she paints insanely detailed artworks of seeds, plants and flowers. Lately she has started doing insects, including exotic stick insects and cicadas. She has about 4 big glass tanks in her house full of different types of stick insects. It’s pretty funny as if you don’t pay any attention it looks like she has a room full of pet twigs.

I guess where I was going with this is there is actually ‘exotic bug meet ups’ where people who breed and collect bugs go to collect bugs, or in my aunts case, study them for art. So yeah; If you ever want to get into some hardcore bug photography, there is an underground worth getting into.

(Also a fun place to buy twig based pets)

[Shadow Wave]

This thread is great, i vote all us photographers use it for tips, opinions and showing off what we have done!
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Well on the opposite end of the scale I just nabbed a Canon EF-S 10-22mm ultra wide lens..



Wished it was an EF lens, but i don;t have any plans on upgrading to Full Frame anytime soon so yeah.

its been raining every day so I haven't really mucked around with it yet but looking forward to experimenting with it.
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[InvivnI]

For those considering the difference between the D90 and the D5000, probably the most important difference is the D5000 lacks an autofocus motor in the body.

This means only AF-S lenses in Nikon's range will autofocus with the D5000. The AF-S lenses are generally newer - but also more expensive, so it's something to consider when tossing up between the D90 and the D5000.
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[STANKY J]

Here are a couple of shots i took with the 50mm.
ive got a fair few photos il need to pull off the camera that really show off how well it performs in low light i was really impressed. until then here is my cat.

[A13x]

[Shadow Wave]

Well yeah I finally got to muck around with it today:

here are the results:

'You think thats a wide angle lens?!'



'...THIS is a wide angle lens!'




Here are some random shots I took as well. The last 2 are HDR attempts.















I found when I was trying to fit a subject in the frame I tended to always zoom to 22mm, but its fairly easy to tell landscape shots are going to be awesome

Gotta be really careful getting close to objects too, cos it looks like your far away.. nearly rammed the lens into a rock :\ lol




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BTW does anyone know of any hosting websites that can handle the strain of uploading Hi Res pictures, imgur, tinypic, imageshack all struggle to upload these types of pictures.. and im way to lazy to downsize them all in Photoshop.
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[A13x]

Nice one

In regards to uploading, I tend to use a mix of imgur and imageshack, after resizing to 800px across to prevent page stretch.

On my macs I have created a service in Automator to give me a right click option of resize 800px when I click on any image file in Finder, this then processes any selected file, by saving it as a jpeg copy, then resizing the copy to 800px.

On PC, I import all my photos into Lightroom before applying RAW adjustments. Any that I wish to upload I then select, and choose file>export, which keeps my last saved settings (to my pictures/subfolder, jpeg, 90% quality, 800px width, moderate sharpness).

I find Lightroom to be a wonderful tool for managing and correcting photos, as well as batch exporting ahead of an upload.
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[Shadow Wave]

Lightroom eh? I'll have to check that out.
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[Spanca]

^ If you're a student you can get it for $85.

Alex can you tell me who you set up that Automator process?
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[A13x]

• Open Automator
• Choose Service
• Up top choose service receives Image Files in Finder.app
• Add a Copy Finder Items Action (From Files and Folders), and pick the folder you want the resized files to be located, in my case, Desktop
• Add a Change type of Images Action (From Photos), and select Jpeg
• Add a Scale Images Action (Photos), and enter the maximum dimension in pixels, for the forums, I use 800px.
• Optionally, add a Rename Action (Files and Folders), and append filename with " resized"
• Save the service under whatever name you want



Now select any photos, of any format, including CR2, NEF etc, right click and select your service, and OSX will batch copy, change format, resize and rename the files within a few seconds.
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[Spanca]

Champion, thanks mate.
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[Mick Saige]

Spanca, another handy way to quickly re-size/format images is to create an action in Photoshop. This way when ever you take a new photo you want to upload/tweak in a certain way you can just open it, hit play and have photoshop do it all for you.

Edit: Look forward to checking out the uploads... This computer happens to be on 33.6Kbps and um... not very good at anything. (Ill check them out at work tomorrow)

(Unless all your photos are tiny little red crosses in white squares. In which case not bad at all)

[Shadow Wave]

^I would like to know how to set up an action in PS? sounds convenient.

BTW, i've only just started mucking around with a circular polarizer filter

but I seem to only have it really effect one side of the frame more than the other? I'm not sure if this is normal or if im doing something wrong or if I have a dodgy one (although I doubt that)

Anyway... yeah here is an example:

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[Mick Saige]

Great work guys... checked it out at work

"Rob why are you looking at cats"

"Uh.."

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ShadowWave,.. Start by clicking the window tab and open the 'actions' window.

(You should have the photo you want to edit open already)

There will be a bunch of default actions, ignore those, you want to make one from scratch.

On the bottom of the actions window will be several buttons:



Create yourself a folder, for example ‘ShadowWave’, you can now fill said file with Actions. (Things you will later want to do, minus actually having to do them manually time and time again)

To create an action click the ‘Create Action’ Button, now what this will do is start recording every move you make. You will notice a red dot appear in the actions box. (To imply its recording)

Now, what ever you do will be recorded in the action window, for example if you re-size, flatten and bump the contrast, it will record everything in a list. INCLUDING; how you and where you save it. (Including closing the image)

Once you have finished editing/exporting the image. Hit the stop button (square) in the actions window. (Ending the recording process)

Now you will have an action, saved in Photoshop. So now when ever you have a photo you want edited and exported in the exact same way, all you need do is open the picture, open the actions window, select your action and hit play (the triangle)

It will then go through all the actions step by step, save and export for you.

I hope this isn’t to confusing, have a bit of a play around, it’s a very simple process once you get your head around it.

Makes doing things exactly the same a less tedious process and completely removes human error. Which my friend, I am made of.

[A13x]

[A13x]

Well I got my 135mm f/2 and MP-E 65mm Super Macro today, behold a few snaps as I learn to master the Macro without a macro flash...


The MP-E 65mm Macro Lens, on the table at work


2x on the Ring of a Coke can


5x on my manager's iPhone 3GS, this is the top quarter of the Notes App (I should redo this whenever I can find a spare iPhone 4...)


A staple in the sink, regular staple, at 5x


Dead housefly, stuck to a knife at 3x


My watchface at 1x


Watch at 5x


Bottom of the Z key on my apple keyboard


Regular old Iodised Sodium Chloride, 5x


5x on a lemon, this is the bit that joined to the stalk


Ballpoint pen, 5x


Match head, 5x

Due to no macro flash, I'm using my 580EX speedlite with diffuser and a bright LED torch aimed at each subject, at least for those in shots after the fly.

None of these are at all cropped, at 21MP, I have room to crop further, at this stage they're a bit noisy due to shooting at ISO 6400, but yeah, sunlight should help considerably there.

EDIT:

The family (Excluding 5D II, EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS, Speedlite 580EX all in use + 100mm f/2.8 Macro, on holiday)


EF 135mm f/2 L
EF 28-300 f/3.5-5.6 L IS
EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 L IS
MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro
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[Shadow Wave]