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[anonymous_abc]

Hi guys and gals, I thought I might as well ask here as i cannot find a pleasing (recent) answer online.

Im looking for a scanner (for my mom) to digitalise lots of old photographs (not negatives)
it should be
- user friendly
- very fast
- good quality
- the provided software should be able to batch scan multiple pictures at once and split them into separate files

any helpful tips of suggestions are welcome

 

[Pachimari]

I have now had a Canon 60D for more than half a year and I have walked around taking photographies with the normal modes you find on the wheel, like Normal, Macro, Portrait etc.

What would be the next logical step I learn about or practice with the camera?

I would love to take a Photographer course in 3 years, now that I'm on another course, but with these years I would like to learn, learn and learn.

 

[POWERSPHERE]

I have now had a Canon 60D for more than half a year and I have walked around taking photographies with the normal modes you find on the wheel, like Normal, Macro, Portrait etc.

What would be the next logical step I learn about or practice with the camera?

I would love to take a Photographer course in 3 years, now that I'm on another course, but with these years I would like to learn, learn and learn.

Basically you just need to research and learn how to work with shutter speeds & aperture. What they are and what they do, then you'll learn about ISO, then you'll basically understand how to control your camera.

 

[Hammer24]

Hi guys, total beginner here. Was just wondering about your thoughts on the Canon 650D? Is it any good?

Very nice camera, I´d recommend it. Enough automatic features to take you by the hand, and also good manual modes to help you dive deeper.
But a simple point-and-shoot, its not.

 

[Pachimari]

Basically you just need to research and learn how to work with shutter speeds & aperture. What they are and what they do, then you'll learn about ISO, then you'll basically understand how to control your camera.

Alright. I'll try search around for guides and Youtube videos. Gonna be exciting.

Why is it that there is noise on some of my picture when I zoom all the way in on the computer?

 

[tino]

Hi guys and gals, I thought I might as well ask here as i cannot find a pleasing (recent) answer online.

Im looking for a scanner (for my mom) to digitalise lots of old photographs (not negatives)
it should be
- user friendly
- very fast
- good quality
- the provided software should be able to batch scan multiple pictures at once and split them into separate files

any helpful tips of suggestions are welcome

There is a website that do it for you. If you look through groupon deals you can find it.

I think scanmyphotos.com

 

[anonymous_abc]

There is a website that do it for you. If you look through groupon deals you can find it.

I think scanmyphotos.com

i think in the long run it will be more economical, all be it more time consuming, to do it yourself.

 

[Dreaver]

Hi guys, I have 2 questions

1) I am thinking about buying (in a distant ftuure)... a third lens (I have 18-55 kit and 50mm 1.8). I'd a lens with 100mm+ zoom. My eye catched the Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, now there is also a STM version Is the STM version worth $100 more and would you recommend it? (I would rather not spend more then $500 on a lens)

2) I want to purchase a camera bag for my 550d, my eye catched the Slingshot 102 AW. Will it also fit the lens above?

Cheers!

 

[phisheep]

Hi guys, I have 2 questions

1) I am thinking about buying (in a distant ftuure)... a third lens (I have 18-55 kit and 50mm 1.8). I'd a lens with 100mm+ zoom. My eye catched the Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, now there is also a STM version Is the STM version worth $100 more and would you recommend it? (I would rather not spend more then $500 on a lens)

2) I want to purchase a camera bag for my 550d, my eye catched the Slingshot 102 AW. Will it also fit the lens above?

Cheers!

On the lens, you might want a bit more reach than that. The 18-135 sounds a good enough lens (it certainly would be for me), but I went for the EF-S 55-250 as an extra lens instead. I find it great for wildlife and some city work, and the extra reach makes a lot of difference to whether seabirds fly away from me or not! Besides, because there's no overlap I'm still getting full use out of the 18-55 kit lens as well.

On the Lowepro Slingshot 102, that's the bag I've got. And I have in it:
- 550D with battery grip
- EFS 18-55 kit lens
- 50mm prime lens
- EFS 55-250 lens
- full set of Kenco extension tubes
- all the cables, four SD cards, four spare batteries and charger, tripod plate, AA battery holder to slide in the grip

It's a bit of a tight squeeze, and you do have to get used to where everything is. I carry a spare lens case on the strap (which is normally either empty, or full of a can of Coke or some sausage rolls). That's useful for hanging a spare lens on my belt if I don't want to lug the whole bag around. Not that I change lenses all that often - normally I'm using just the one, but it is useful having the telephoto in reserve just in case

 

[Dreaver]

On the lens, you might want a bit more reach than that. The 18-135 sounds a good enough lens (it certainly would be for me), but I went for the EF-S 55-250 as an extra lens instead. I find it great for wildlife and some city work, and the extra reach makes a lot of difference to whether seabirds fly away from me or not! Besides, because there's no overlap I'm still getting full use out of the 18-55 kit lens as well.

On the Lowepro Slingshot 102, that's the bag I've got. And I have in it:
- 550D with battery grip
- EFS 18-55 kit lens
- 50mm prime lens
- EFS 55-250 lens
- full set of Kenco extension tubes
- all the cables, four SD cards, four spare batteries and charger, tripod plate, AA battery holder to slide in the grip

It's a bit of a tight squeeze, and you do have to get used to where everything is. I carry a spare lens case on the strap (which is normally either empty, or full of a can of Coke or some sausage rolls). That's useful for hanging a spare lens on my belt if I don't want to lug the whole bag around. Not that I change lenses all that often - normally I'm using just the one, but it is useful having the telephoto in reserve just in case

That lens seems quite nice (cheap). I will certainly look into it. I do think however that 18-135 would fit me better (I tried the 50mm a few times to photograph in Budapest and it was way too much zoom most of the time) and I am not someone who likes to changes lenses a lot.

But still a great suggestion, thank you!

 

[phisheep]

You might also consider third-party lenses. Tamron do an 18-270 that seems well-rated, not that I'm familiar with it.

 

[Roland Garros]

Very nice camera, I´d recommend it. Enough automatic features to take you by the hand, and also good manual modes to help you dive deeper.
But a simple point-and-shoot, its not.

Thanks mate. I'm a total beginner and I'm basically throwing myself in the deep end with the camera. Love it so far, just wanting to see what other people thought, etc.

 

[Hammer24]

Thanks mate. I'm a total beginner and I'm basically throwing myself in the deep end with the camera. Love it so far, just wanting to see what other people thought, etc.

No, its really quite good, and stay with you for a while, as it´ll take some serious time until you´re going to outgrow its feature set.


On another note: just pulled the trigger on my first L, bought the 100-400mm.
Anyone got the lens and has some helpfull tips on things I should specifically watch out for with it?

 

[dehydratedbabies]

Yikes, the 14-42 lens that came with my GH2 has such a shitty build quality. The plastic makes zooming unbearably stiff. It was only $30 but I will be selling it ASAP, luckily it looks like it goes for about $70 on eBay.

Tonight I will be studying the GH2's manual then looking into the hacks.

 

[itwasTuesday]

Yikes, the 14-42 lens that came with my GH2 has such a shitty build quality. The plastic makes zooming unbearably stiff. It was only $30 but I will be selling it ASAP, luckily it looks like it goes for about $70 on eBay.

Tonight I will be studying the GH2's manual then looking into the hacks.

Nice, a GH2 I bought last Christmas was one penny cheaper with that kit lens then body only. Then not even a week later it doped another $100, called up amazon and got that refunded.

 

[Radec]

LX7 review:
http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/panasonic/dmc_lx7-review

pretty meh imo, photos looked like what an LX5 can easily do.

 

[radios shipping overview]

LX7 review:
http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/panasonic/dmc_lx7-review

pretty meh imo, photos looked like what an LX5 can easily do.

Yeah, if you're going to upgrade from a zoom compact, it's better to get something with a substantially bigger sensor than to buy a newer model of the same thing.

 

[sneaky77]

No, its really quite good, and stay with you for a while, as it´ll take some serious time until you´re going to outgrow its feature set.


On another note: just pulled the trigger on my first L, bought the 100-400mm.
Anyone got the lens and has some helpfull tips on things I should specifically watch out for with it?

I have been looking into that lense let me know impressions

 

[TerryLee81]

Finally pulled the trigger on a new camera. Had a 60D before with some crappy lenses.

I have some money left for 1-2 lenses. I only have a 50mm 1.4 at the moment.

Not sure what to get first, maybe a 24-105mm as an always-on lens. But the 17-40mm is also very tempting and reasonably priced

 

[VNZ]

Finally pulled the trigger on a new camera. Had a 60D before with some crappy lenses.

I have some money left for 1-2 lenses. I only have a 50mm 1.4 at the moment.

Not sure what to get first, maybe a 24-105mm as an always-on lens. But the 17-40mm is also very tempting and reasonably priced

I find the 24-105/4L rather depressing actually. It's rather hard to put my finger on why, but it's just so mediocre I find. Still, since buying a 5DmarkII myself about a year ago I've been struggling to find a great lens setup. So far I've basically only used the 50/1.4, which I don't like too much to be honest. 50mm is all-roundish for snapshots, but not really spectacular for most situations I find. I'd rather have a 35 and an 85 (and maybe a modern 135 to replace my manual east bloc 135/2.8).

The 85/1.8 USM is really beautiful and a great value for money. It gets more problematic on the wide end unfortunately... Canon's offerings are either crap (28/1.8, 35/2.0) or too big and very expensive. If the new 24-70/2.8L II delivers spectacular sharpness it might be the go-to Canon lens, regardless of the high price.

 

[mrklaw]

I have now had a Canon 60D for more than half a year and I have walked around taking photographies with the normal modes you find on the wheel, like Normal, Macro, Portrait etc.

What would be the next logical step I learn about or practice with the camera?

I would love to take a Photographer course in 3 years, now that I'm on another course, but with these years I would like to learn, learn and learn.

Learn Av mode. You control the aperture, the camera adjusts the shutter speed to give a balanced exposure. You can benefit from buying something fast like the 50mm 1.8 to experiment with shallow depth of field (very inexpensive lens). Shoot some tests with objects at regular intervals to see how it affects the image - eg fence posts retreating into the distance, or even just some batteries stood up on a table.

At the same time you'll probably want to read up on exposure compensation so you can learn when you need to tell the camera that its definition of a good exposure isn't always right.

Both of those are fairly straightforward to understand and a few practice sessions will give you the basic idea quickly.

 

[mrklaw]

No, its really quite good, and stay with you for a while, as it´ll take some serious time until you´re going to outgrow its feature set.


On another note: just pulled the trigger on my first L, bought the 100-400mm.
Anyone got the lens and has some helpfull tips on things I should specifically watch out for with it?

its a push/pull which can take some getting used to, but otherwise its a fine piece of glass. Go and find yourself a local airshow or football game to run it through its paces.

At the 400 end its pretty long, so stability is important. I managed handheld for a while with aircraft (because their flightpaths aren't always linear), but if you're shooting eg racecars you might consider a monopod to give you some stability.

Also I found sometimes if you're tracking fast objects it can help to keep both eyes open - one is monitoring the viewfinder and the other helps you get the camera pointing in roughly the right location.

 

[Hammer24]

I have been looking into that lense let me know impressions

Only first impressions now, will go on a field trip this weekend and update later.

Feels extremely sturdy and considerably havier than the 70-300 IS USM (non L) it replaces. Autofocus is a dream, smooth and fast and quiet - a difference like night and day. Pump-action zooming will take a little getting used too. And needing basically two hands to change the zoom lock is weird.
Back to the weight - defo get the tripod mount for the lens, otherwise it seems tiring. First test shots on 400mm with f8 - its way sharper than the 70-300 at 300 wide open.
Í´m about to go on safari for two and a half weeks of wildlife shooting, will put the lens through the paces there.

 

[Hammer24]

Also I found sometimes if you're tracking fast objects it can help to keep both eyes open - one is monitoring the viewfinder and the other helps you get the camera pointing in roughly the right location.

Thats something I´m used too. 90% of the time I´m doing wildlife, so I need to shoot a lot handheld. I´m curious if the lens will get too heavy over time.

 

[antti-la]

I want more glass!

It's just that I'm on kind of a tight budget here. I own Canon 600D / T3i and the following lenses:
Samyang 8mm f/3.5
Canon 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 (Kit)
Canon 50mm f/1.8

I love the bokeh and quality of the 50mm f/1.8, but as i'm with this cropped sensor (x1.6) I've found fov to be far too narrow almost for any occasion, also the focusing is too slow especially with live view.

So for the most of the time, I just tend to grab kit lens. It being so suitable for almost any type of photography, but then again i do miss the wide aperture, bokeh, sharpness etc things which makes dslr an dsrl.

So I have kind of narrowed the choice between these two glasses.

Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX DC HSM
Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM

Now it comes down to, would the 17-50mm please me quality wise enough vs. the kit lens, (it still being a pretty expensive lens) would you be able to shoot for example professional-looking bokehlicious portraits with it because of kind of a large aperture size?

Or would i be better off with that 30mm, that aperture size is just crazy, but is 30mm still wide enough, or versatile to be a "good all-a-round lens"

Maaan... i don't just know what to pick up.

 

[Hammer24]

I want more glass!

It's just that I'm on kind of a tight budget here. I own Canon 600D / T3i and the following lenses:
Samyang 8mm f/3.5
Canon 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 (Kit)
Canon 50mm f/1.8

I love the bokeh and quality of the 50mm f/1.8, but as i'm with this cropped sensor (x1.6) I've found fov to be far too narrow almost for any occasion, also the focusing is too slow especially with live view.

So for the most of the time, I just tend to grab kit lens. It being so suitable for almost any type of photography, but then again i do miss the wide aperture, bokeh, sharpness etc things which makes dslr an dsrl.

So I have kind of narrowed the choice between these two glasses.

Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX DC HSM
Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM

Now it comes down to, would the 17-50mm please me quality wise enough vs. the kit lens, (it still being a pretty expensive lens) would you be able to shoot for example professional-looking bokehlicious portraits with it because of kind of a large aperture size?

Or would i be better off with that 30mm, that aperture size is just crazy, but is 30mm still wide enough, or versatile to be a "good all-a-round lens"

Maaan... i don't just know what to pick up.

A zoom lens will always give you more versatility, but the prime way better quality. Your milage may vary according on what is more important to you - but as long as you still got the kit lens and are cash strapped, I´d recommend you the prime.

 

[chizmiz]

I want more glass!

It's just that I'm on kind of a tight budget here. I own Canon 600D / T3i and the following lenses:
Samyang 8mm f/3.5
Canon 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 (Kit)
Canon 50mm f/1.8

I love the bokeh and quality of the 50mm f/1.8, but as i'm with this cropped sensor (x1.6) I've found fov to be far too narrow almost for any occasion, also the focusing is too slow especially with live view.

So for the most of the time, I just tend to grab kit lens. It being so suitable for almost any type of photography, but then again i do miss the wide aperture, bokeh, sharpness etc things which makes dslr an dsrl.

So I have kind of narrowed the choice between these two glasses.

Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX DC HSM
Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM

Now it comes down to, would the 17-50mm please me quality wise enough vs. the kit lens, (it still being a pretty expensive lens) would you be able to shoot for example professional-looking bokehlicious portraits with it because of kind of a large aperture size?

Or would i be better off with that 30mm, that aperture size is just crazy, but is 30mm still wide enough, or versatile to be a "good all-a-round lens"

Maaan... i don't just know what to pick up.

You will use the 30mm all the time if you get it. It's fast, it's beautiful. On my DSLR, i pretty much only use it and the 135mm L.

 

[Instigator]

Wow. Stunning video shows the world why Canon is market leader of DSLR's and soon will be in the mirrorless market as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=p4G0Z-_9--w

 

[Radec]

Wow. Stunning video shows the world why Canon is market leader of DSLR's and soon will be in the mirrorless market as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=p4G0Z-_9--w

Blazingly fast. damn.

 

[tino]

Wow. Stunning video shows the world why Canon is market leader of DSLR's and soon will be in the mirrorless market as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=p4G0Z-_9--w

Why do you say that. EOS M focus pretty slow. Until Canon implement focus elements on the photo sensor itself, like Nikon 1 series does, it can't focus as fast as a SLR.

 

[Instigator]

I was trying to be sarcastic.

I know this is supposed to be an improvement in liveview AF for Canon, but it's still pathetically slow compared to the competition. It's like travelling back to 2008 or 2009.

 

[MaizeRage25]

I want more glass!

It's just that I'm on kind of a tight budget here. I own Canon 600D / T3i and the following lenses:
Samyang 8mm f/3.5
Canon 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 (Kit)
Canon 50mm f/1.8

I love the bokeh and quality of the 50mm f/1.8, but as i'm with this cropped sensor (x1.6) I've found fov to be far too narrow almost for any occasion, also the focusing is too slow especially with live view.

So for the most of the time, I just tend to grab kit lens. It being so suitable for almost any type of photography, but then again i do miss the wide aperture, bokeh, sharpness etc things which makes dslr an dsrl.

So I have kind of narrowed the choice between these two glasses.

Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX DC HSM
Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM

Now it comes down to, would the 17-50mm please me quality wise enough vs. the kit lens, (it still being a pretty expensive lens) would you be able to shoot for example professional-looking bokehlicious portraits with it because of kind of a large aperture size?

Or would i be better off with that 30mm, that aperture size is just crazy, but is 30mm still wide enough, or versatile to be a "good all-a-round lens"

Maaan... i don't just know what to pick up.

I have a very similar setup on a Canon T2i:

Canon 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 (Kit)
Canon 50mm f/1.8

Love the 50 and think the kit lens is actually not that terrible if there is good lighting available. However, I just came into some money and am also looking to upgrade my glass. Mainly use my camera for taking pictures of my family and 6-month old daughter. Don't know which direction to go:

UWA: Canon 10-22 EF-S
Walkaround/Normal Zoom: 15-85 EF-S, 17-55 EF-S, 24-105L
Wider prime: 40mm pancake, Sigma 30mm
Longer prime: 85mm 1.8 (good price it seems, but will be fairly long on a crop)
Telephoto: 70-200L F4

 

[radios shipping overview]

Wow. Stunning video shows the world why Canon is market leader of DSLR's and soon will be in the mirrorless market as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=p4G0Z-_9--w

Sarcasm? My meter is broken. Edit: yep

 

[giga]

I want more glass!

It's just that I'm on kind of a tight budget here. I own Canon 600D / T3i and the following lenses:
Samyang 8mm f/3.5
Canon 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 (Kit)
Canon 50mm f/1.8

I love the bokeh and quality of the 50mm f/1.8, but as i'm with this cropped sensor (x1.6) I've found fov to be far too narrow almost for any occasion, also the focusing is too slow especially with live view.

So for the most of the time, I just tend to grab kit lens. It being so suitable for almost any type of photography, but then again i do miss the wide aperture, bokeh, sharpness etc things which makes dslr an dsrl.

So I have kind of narrowed the choice between these two glasses.

Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX DC HSM
Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM

Now it comes down to, would the 17-50mm please me quality wise enough vs. the kit lens, (it still being a pretty expensive lens) would you be able to shoot for example professional-looking bokehlicious portraits with it because of kind of a large aperture size?

Or would i be better off with that 30mm, that aperture size is just crazy, but is 30mm still wide enough, or versatile to be a "good all-a-round lens"

Maaan... i don't just know what to pick up.

Get the 30. Image quality, speed, and bokeh are miles ahead. It's my main all around lens. I don't even bother with zooms anymore.

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

Hey all,

For PAX my dad is letting me borrow a camera from him. It's one of his older ones, a Cannon E05 I believe. I took some photography back in high school, but that was 10 years ago. Are there any awesome sources to give me a quick run-through of photography basics again? Stuff like aperture, shutter speed, etc?

I also need to figure out what the settings on the camera do. I may have to try to find the manual online for the camera. I know there is the automatic mode, but it would be nice to play around with some settings.

 

[The_Inquisitor]

Hi all. As you may have read, I was robbed at gunpoint last week. Unfortunately, they stole all my camera equipment but my 70-200mm F/4L (which is now for sale if anyone here is interested).

I'm not interested in getting another full size DSLR. Instead, I would like to get a micro 4:3. It looks like I should be looking at either a Sony or Panasonic? If so, what do you guys prefer? my budget is probably 750, but I can go higher. Thanks!

Hey all,

For PAX my dad is letting me borrow a camera from him. It's one of his older ones, a Cannon E05 I believe. I took some photography back in high school, but that was 10 years ago. Are there any awesome sources to give me a quick run-through of photography basics again? Stuff like aperture, shutter speed, etc?

I also need to figure out what the settings on the camera do. I may have to try to find the manual online for the camera. I know there is the automatic mode, but it would be nice to play around with some settings.

Stick with Av, Tv, or P mode. You don't want to be in manual at PAX.

 

[zephervack]

Hi all. As you may have read, I was robbed at gunpoint last week. Unfortunately, they stole all my camera equipment but my 70-200mm F/4L (which is now for sale if anyone here is interested).

I'm not interested in getting another full size DSLR. Instead, I would like to get a micro 4:3. It looks like I should be looking at either a Sony or Panasonic? If so, what do you guys prefer? my budget is probably 750, but I can go higher. Thanks!

Damn, so sorry to hear that, if you dont mind me asking, where were you robbed and were they targeting your photo gear or anything else?

 

[The_Inquisitor]

Damn, so sorry to hear that, if you dont mind me asking, where were you robbed and were they targeting your photo gear or anything else?

Kicked in my door to my apartment and stuck a gun to my head. They were screaming at me that they knew I had a safe. (I just got out of fucking college, why the fuck would I have a safe??)

Anyways, once they realized they were fucking wrong, they made off with my laptop, camera bag and wallet. :/ I have a whole thread about it in the OT.

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

Stick with Av, Tv, or P mode. You don't want to be in manual at PAX.

Thanks. Being newer at this, what do each of those modes do? What's the difference?

 

[The_Inquisitor]

Thanks. Being newer at this, what do each of those modes do? What's the difference?

Av - aperture priority. You keep the size of the hole the lens makes when it takes a picture fixed while changing the shutter speed to compensate for the lighting in the scene

Tv - same as above, but fixed shutter speed while hole in lens changes sizes. (When I say hole, I mean the size of hole that remains when shutters in lens close)

P - Will auto change the aperture and shutter speed. You control ISO and light meter. (probably best for indoor usage).

I'd heavily suggest P mode your first time. It should get you the most consistent results. Make sure you jack up the ISO a bit since you'll be indoors and the lighting will be very inconsistent.

 

[v0yce]

I have now had a Canon 60D for more than half a year and I have walked around taking photographies with the normal modes you find on the wheel, like Normal, Macro, Portrait etc.

What would be the next logical step I learn about or practice with the camera?

I would love to take a Photographer course in 3 years, now that I'm on another course, but with these years I would like to learn, learn and learn.

Get this

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-EOS-60D-Snapshots-Great/dp/0321747437

It will walk you through just about every thing you need to know. And does so in a very easy to understand way since it's tailored to your specific camera.

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

Av - aperture priority. You keep the size of the hole the lens makes when it takes a picture fixed while changing the shutter speed to compensate for the lighting in the scene

Tv - same as above, but fixed shutter speed while hole in lens changes sizes. (When I say hole, I mean the size of hole that remains when shutters in lens close)

P - Will auto change the aperture and shutter speed. You control ISO and light meter. (probably best for indoor usage).

I'd heavily suggest P mode your first time. It should get you the most consistent results. Make sure you jack up the ISO a bit since you'll be indoors and the lighting will be very inconsistent.

Thanks. I'll note this stuff down. Like I said, I had taken a class on photography but it was so long ago. I need to refresh myself on the actual aperture, shutter speed, etc numbers too.

 

[subversus]

just bought this bad boy instead of Zeiss

nikkor 35-200, manual focus

most pleased. here is what it does on NEX:

 

[TerryLee81]

I find the 24-105/4L rather depressing actually. It's rather hard to put my finger on why, but it's just so mediocre I find. Still, since buying a 5DmarkII myself about a year ago I've been struggling to find a great lens setup. So far I've basically only used the 50/1.4, which I don't like too much to be honest. 50mm is all-roundish for snapshots, but not really spectacular for most situations I find. I'd rather have a 35 and an 85 (and maybe a modern 135 to replace my manual east bloc 135/2.8).

The 85/1.8 USM is really beautiful and a great value for money. It gets more problematic on the wide end unfortunately... Canon's offerings are either crap (28/1.8, 35/2.0) or too big and very expensive. If the new 24-70/2.8L II delivers spectacular sharpness it might be the go-to Canon lens, regardless of the high price.

The new 24-70 costs an arm and a leg. Too much for me for one lens. Looks like I will buy the 100mm Macro L first, and then decide on a standard zoom lens.

Anyone have the 17-40mm? I know that the 16-35mm is better, but it costs almost twice as much. The 17-40mm looks like great value.

 

[The_Inquisitor]

Thanks. I'll note this stuff down. Like I said, I had taken a class on photography but it was so long ago. I need to refresh myself on the actual aperture, shutter speed, etc numbers too.

Smaller f stop the more light that comes through. The larger the hole the shallower your depth of field becomes.

Smaller your shutter speed, the less light that gets into the camera. But the slower your shutter, the more likely you are to introduce motion blur.

 

[centracore]

Hi all. As you may have read, I was robbed at gunpoint last week. Unfortunately, they stole all my camera equipment but my 70-200mm F/4L (which is now for sale if anyone here is interested).

I'm not interested in getting another full size DSLR. Instead, I would like to get a micro 4:3. It looks like I should be looking at either a Sony or Panasonic? If so, what do you guys prefer? my budget is probably 750, but I can go higher. Thanks!

Damn sorry to hear about that, glad you are okay though.

I have the Panasonic GX1 paired with the 20mm f/1.7 pancake lens and am loving it.. the entire setup is extremely lightweight / portable and the picture quality it's capable of producing is stunning, right up there with DSLRs. Highly recommend going the micro four thirds route.

 

[Pachimari]

Learn Av mode. You control the aperture, the camera adjusts the shutter speed to give a balanced exposure. You can benefit from buying something fast like the 50mm 1.8 to experiment with shallow depth of field (very inexpensive lens). Shoot some tests with objects at regular intervals to see how it affects the image - eg fence posts retreating into the distance, or even just some batteries stood up on a table.

At the same time you'll probably want to read up on exposure compensation so you can learn when you need to tell the camera that its definition of a good exposure isn't always right.

Both of those are fairly straightforward to understand and a few practice sessions will give you the basic idea quickly.

Get this

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-EOS-60D-Snapshots-Great/dp/0321747437

It will walk you through just about every thing you need to know. And does so in a very easy to understand way since it's tailored to your specific camera.

I'm gonna look at all this, thanks guys!

Right now I feel so uninspired around Copenhagen. I really wanna take some awesome shots of the city but I never get excited like I do abroad, probably because I have been here my whole life and have already seen much of it. I'm thinking of some bird eye shots from towers though.

 

[antti-la]

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

You've convinced me. I'm ordering up that 30mm prime Sigma!
It's even couple hundred euros cheaper then that standard zoom.

 

[sneaky77]

Finally pulled the trigger on a new camera. Had a 60D before with some crappy lenses.

I have some money left for 1-2 lenses. I only have a 50mm 1.4 at the moment.

Not sure what to get first, maybe a 24-105mm as an always-on lens. But the 17-40mm is also very tempting and reasonably priced

I'm jealous..

 

[VNZ]

I have a very similar setup on a Canon T2i:

Canon 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 (Kit)
Canon 50mm f/1.8

Love the 50 and think the kit lens is actually not that terrible if there is good lighting available. However, I just came into some money and am also looking to upgrade my glass. Mainly use my camera for taking pictures of my family and 6-month old daughter. Don't know which direction to go:

UWA: Canon 10-22 EF-S
Walkaround/Normal Zoom: 15-85 EF-S, 17-55 EF-S, 24-105L
Wider prime: 40mm pancake, Sigma 30mm
Longer prime: 85mm 1.8 (good price it seems, but will be fairly long on a crop)
Telephoto: 70-200L F4

Some stats from my Lightroom library of "keepers":

Except for the 706 pics taken with the 50mm f/1.4 USM on my 5D markII these are all taken with APS-C Canon gear. Obviously the Sigma 30mm was my favourite lens, with the 10-22mm not too far behind.

That said, the Sigma is by far my favourite lens so far. In many ways it surpasses how I feel about the Canon 50mm f/1.4, which sort of lacks personality compared to the 30mm Sigma. I've taken a lot of nice pictures with the 10-22mm as well, but those are of another character completely, mostly architecture, cityscapes and some wacky wide angle portraits. Among the 30mm pictures there's a lot of great personal photos as well as street snapshots. I'd go for the 30mm first.