Canon XTI 10Mp Camera - Any good?

To add to that - some cameras don't play well with microdrives. I assume the new ones are fine, but my D100 refused to work with the microdrive I bought.

Frys - www.frys.com or www.outpost.com

Amazon sometimes comes in at a better price than Fry's.

I have a 2.2 gig hitachi microdrive and it is slow when it comes to burst mode.
It was pretty bad with the D60 at 3.5fps.
Now with the 1D it is pretty painful with 8.5fps.

I will be buying two or three of the high end sandisk ultra 2 gig CF cards from Costco for around $70 each. For now I'm using a 512 CF sandisk Ultra card.

One more thing against Microdrives, they don't like cold weather. Last year's Winter Camp at Big Bend it didn't get all that cold (night time lows in the lower 30's), but the microdrive wouldn't work in the mornings until they got warmed up (tent camping so no place to keep the camera warm overnight). The camera would just shutoff after the taking the picture when it was trying to write out the data to the microdrive. The CF cards didn't have any problems with those temperatures, and they weren't even the Sandisk Extreme's. I still have the microdrive, but only use it in warm temperature's, and only when I fill up the 4GB CF card. Looking for another 4 or 8GB at a good price but so far Fry's only been running ad's for the 2GB cards. This should change since Christmas is coming up, there should be some good sales on the larger CF cards, there have been the last couple of years.

Amazon just shipped my Opteka battery grip, same one you got airbutchie. I also invested in a 430EX flash. Now the wife will kill me if I spend any more this side of Christmas, unless we win big at the Christmas Party again this year So I have to wait on the Canon 75-200 F4 until my birthday in March.

Hehehhehehheh... Great purchases there my friend... You won't regret the battery grip and flash...

Anyhoo... Just to add to the discussion... Here's a few pics I took this past weekend while my wifey and I were putting up our xmas decorations... Enjoy:





edit: Digital Rebel XTi|Canon 50mm f1.8|ISO 100|430EX Flash

- airbutchie

I could almost tell those were taken with the 50mm f/1.8 before I scrolled down. Guess how I knew?

The awesome bokeh I created?! Hehhehehhehe... How Xorand?

- Air B :rolleyes:

Of course the fuckers at Slickdealz.net post the XTI Kit (which I got 2 weeks ago) for $535 today. About $300 less than I paid.

So for anyone wanting a nice camera at a cheap ass price, from a well respected source - Dell.com. Go to slickdealz.net and follow the link.

The $535 deal is for the XT kit, not the XTi. That's still a good price though. Here are the details:

That's part of it. The aperature in the 50mm f/1.8 has five blades, thus the five-sided pentagon look to the lights in the background. Most lenses have seven or eight blades, giving a more rounded look to the out of focus areas. Nothing bad, mind you, as it provides some interesting effects at times.

I'm glad this topic came up. We are getting the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT 8MP camera. I don't know how much space an 8MP picture takes, but is a 512MB memory card enough? How many pictures will that hold at best quality?

Count on an average of about 4 Megs per highest-quality JPEG. That is an average, of course. Scenes with more detail, such as a picture out in the woods full of trees, will take up to 7 or 8 MB each, depending.

If you shoot RAW, count on about 8-10 MB a picture.

I have a Digital Rebel (300D - 6 MP) and carry six 512MB cards. I usually get around 140 high quality JPEGs or about 70-75 RAW images on a card. Scale your results by about 3/4 (seeing as how your images will be about 4/3rd the size of mine.

Nismo... If you've got the cash, you may want to purchase, at a minimum, a 1GB card... 2GB would be better... Nonetheless, the 512MB card would probably hold about 507 JPEGS and 109 RAW format pictures... Linky here: Megapixel Calculator

Of course you have to factor in how detailed the picture composition is... But the figure above is probably a "guess-timate" at best...

Lastly, a few pics I took with the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di LD lens I purchased last month... Enjoy...

Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 - "Flower Power"








- Air B

edit: pictures were taken indoors, at nite, with fluorescent (sp?) lighting, hand held... No flash used... EXIF file is attached to the picture if you want to see the details of the composition...

I got a 2Gb card with my 10mp XTI from NewEgg. Way cheaper than buying what the online site - Beachcamera.com where I got the camera had to offer.

Sandisk UltraII 2Gb $71.99: http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820171051

Seems to be fast enough for my needs too. I plan on a 2nd one in the near future.

I just scooped up a few 1 gig Sandisk Ultra II CF cards from Sandisk a couple days ago.
$22.99 each.. ROCK! And a 1 gig SD card for $14.99 for my girlfriend P&S camera.
Now they are back to normal prices. Go figure.

If anyone is interested, my D60 is officially on ebay. linky
I will give a good discount to a fellow X'er if interested.



Edited to add..
It's not all about the megapixel. My camera is only a 4.1MP.
If I shoot on RAW they can be anywhere between 4-11 meg. each. More than adequate for any prints.

Salsa - you might want to improve the English in a couple spots on your auction...

"I can also answer any question that you may have"

- should be "questions"

There are also a couple places where "camera" should be pluralized to "cameras" - like here:
"Anyone that knows camera, knows Pelican cases." - that ought to be "Anyone who knows cameras knows Pelican cases."

Just trying to help

LOL. I typed it up late last night and it took forever and a day to upload the pix. Ugh.
I'll fix it up later tonight. Thanks for the grammar lesson.

Ah...but you can do even better right now...

$44.99 at Amazon right now

(Which is actually cheaper than the 1GB at Amazon.

Yeaa - I have one on my Amazon wish list. Along with the 70-200 f/4 USM lens and a bunch of other goodies. Damn cheap for a 2Gb CF card, but I'll see if anyone gets it for me for Christmas / Hannukah first.

Bump Bump... So Big Yella doesn' have to look very far for info on a lens for his Rebel XT...

- Air B

To add to that bump - that Amazon link - the 2GB card is now $39.99!

Butchie,
Your focus seems soft on these shots. Do you find it difficult for the Tamron to get a good lock? That's always been a shortcoming of Tamron.

It depends on the lighting... Like the flower pictures I posted, the only light in that room was coming from a 60W lightbulb (in a makeshift chandeller) about 6 feet above it... In addition, it's been a tested fact that Tamrons have a little difficulty on focusing in dim lighting situations... I'm sure if the flower arrangement was in sunlight, It wouldn't be so soft... But that's the quirks you get with most lenses... The amount of light we definately have an effect on the picture...

Now here's a little post-processing in PS... Just did a quick "unsharp masking" on the image and the results are shown below:

BEFORE:


AFTER:


Any difference? I'd say "yes", but I'll you guys decide... Hhehehheheheh... Still a great lens, though...

- Air B

Don't forget, too, that the depth of field in those pictures is a mere fraction of an inch. With the depth of the subject matter, only a small portion of the flowers will be in sharp focus.

The USM doesn't hurt, either.

Just got my wife the Rebel XT courtesy of Dell and coupons making it 25% off. I also got a 120x 2GB CF card from buy.com for $30 using google checkout.

Quick question for those who have this camera... can you use your lcd screen to see what you're taking pictures of instead of looking through the view finder? Right now, we're reading through the manual and haven't come across anything that says you can. This was the first thing I noticed.

No.

There are several reasons why a DSLR will not do that.

1) There is a mirror between the sensor and the lens. This mirror allows the viewfinder to work. When the mirror is in the down position, it blocks the line of sight between the lens and the sensor.

2) the sensor is off when not taking an image. That ensures that it doesnt heatup. A "hot" sensor will produce more noise.

3) Its usually better to actually put your eye actually up to the viewfinder. This allows you to compose better shots thru the viewfinder and your cheek acts as a stabilizer for less camera shake. How many times do you see people holding a digital camera at arms length and then complain about blury photos? Well duh..... your hands will be more stable the closer you hold them to your body. The "nose stabilizer" rules!

4) Speed. Ever wonder why a standard p&s camera has such a long delay from the time you press the button to the time it actually takes the shot. Ever miss a shot because of this lag? Notice that your new DSLR has almost NO lag whatsoever?

To date, only one DSLR can have a real-time running LCD. That is the Olympus evolt. It dodges #1 and #2 cause it has TWO sensors. One for real-time preview on the LCD and one to actually take the photo.

REad this for a better explanation: http://www.xanga.com/PhotoSavant/358046048/item.html

Also - you will notice that your DSLR, does not record videos like a cheap P&S can. This is because the sensor is "off" when not taking pics.

One more thing....

Source: wikipedia

Thanks for the explanation KJ. All good stuff to know. We will obviously be using the viewfinder, I was just wondering if there was a way to use the lcd in case we were taking some quick pictures. It's not that important, but glad I didn't worry about trying to figure it out since it doesn't exist. Thanks again.

BTW, do you have any tripod recommendations for the Rebel XT? Nothing expensive, but something that's durable, gets the job done and won't break/fall apart.

Bogen 718B Digi Tripod

(I'd never touch anything available at Wal-Mart/Best Buy/etc - meaning Velbon, Sunpak, etc)

I'd stick with anying Bogen, Manfrotto and Slik.

I 2nd Mobycat about staying away from anything at Walmart, Best Buy, etc.

I've been using a Dynatran I purchased from ebay 2 years ago. I wanted something durable and "pro" level with a grip head, but I didn't want to spend hundreds on a pro tripod.

http://www.amvona.com/v7/shop/?page=shop/flypage&product_id=2340

Dynatrans are a knockoff brand, that sells for 1/3 the cost of the pro brands. They wouldn't hold up to pro level abuse (I'm sure), but work just fine for an enthusiast like me.

I also have owned a Slik U8000 since the late 90's. I picked it up at my local camera store (since bought out by wolf camera). I'd recommend this slik. It's light, fairly portable and good quality. Good price too - I see it's selling for around $40 at the moment.

http://www.adorama.com/SLU8000.html?sid=1166636976516767

Hey KJ, I got a new toy for Xmas from the GF. I can put away the D100. I now have a spanking brand new D80! Woohoo!

Nice gift! I want a D80 to replace my D70. Same guts as the D200, but jammed into a D70 size.

How is the built quality difference? The D100 is supposed to be more stout and "pro" durability whereas the D80 is comsumer level. Do you notice any difference in quality and construction?

I asked Carlton once which he prefers and he said he would rather get a used D100 than a current D80. Even though the D80 has newer tech, the D100 is just built better.

Not sure. I've actually not had time to play with it. Going to tonight.

A couple small things out of the box I prefer:

D80 - multiple exposure, color rendition (more saturated - personal preference)

D100 - mechanical bulb capable

(Now I *really* don't need the N6006 I have. I also have an FM10 (plastic galore). I'll probably hold on to the FM10, simply because it doesn't need any batteries to operate, should I be stupid enough to run through an EL3 (if it's even possible with the shooting I do).

Go pickup a generic brand backup battery on ebay for a few bucks.

My D70 takes an IR based remote in the place of the cable release. That's how I do "bulb" shots. Press the remote once to open the shutter and use some manual timer (aka. stop watch) and then press it again to shut the shutter when the time has passed. I read somewhere that since its IR based, you could grab any universal TV remote and set it to the proper frequency and use that too. I'm not sure, but I think your D80 might have that "bonus feature" too.

The remote is great for group shots when you want to be in the shot too.

I just picked up a Canon 20D.

Came with these lenses:
Canon 18-55mm F3.5-F5.6
Sigma 70-300mm F5.6

So far my best shot is this one with the set up I've gotten.



I'm really enjoying my camera but want to learn so much more about it. The manual is...ok...but if you don't understand what they're talking about...you have no clue.

I saw the link for the canon forums and registered, there will be a lot of time spent on there reading and learning.

Excellent pic, Cornick. It works so well in B/W, too.

I've kinda been shopping around for a slightly used 20D so I can relegate my Digital Rebel (300D) to backup status.

Probably won't be until spring/summer now, though. Kid in college, all that stuff.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by cornick:
[QB]I just picked up a Canon 20D.

Came with these lenses:
Canon 18-55mm F3.5-F5.6
Sigma 70-300mm F5.6

Nice camera. I have the same one for a year and 1/2 now and love it.

You can pick up an extra battery at Sterlingtek for cheap.
Just use code SH123FREE for free shipping if you pick up 3 or more.
http://sterlingtek.stores.yahoo.net/ln03-canon-bp-511-dlc511.html

I echo airbutchie's comment on the Tokina 12-24. Great lens, even though I don't use it much but when I do, it's really fun. Lens collection is getting me broke

btw, I'm on POTN too as 4x4rock.

Here's a pic with the 12-24

Wow its so funny to read this post...sounds like what I just went through the past months since I had my Canon G6 for 2 years and decided to upgrade to a Dslr. Looked hard at the new Canon Xti, but decided to drop a lil more cash on the Nikon D80 for some better features and over quality I feel. And the lens is the reason I went with Nikon and not Canon.

I got the D80 for $929 and then went with the AMAZING 18-200mm Nikkor lens ($899 alone for the lens too, ouch!) I know the price is high, but I did this instead of buying 2 or 3 different pieces of glass which would add up to the same price I feel. Best thing is (since my hands shake a lot) it has VR - i.e. "Vibration Reduction" and really helps when Im shooting without a tripod (which is often).

Only had it two weeks now, but messing around with it...just shot this pic below yesterday of my antenna topper with the new D80.

Happy Holidays!


P.S. - I bought my old G6 and my new D80 through: www.buydig.com

It shipped super fast and they have pretty decent prices (I dont get anything for promoting them, trust me...but I just know they are top notch the 2 times I ordered from them). Ritz camera etc will charge more if you just want the warm and fuzzy feeling of knowing you can take it right back to the brick and mortar store, but I wanted to save some $$ since the damn lens cost as much as the camera!

I know there are a lot of Canon fans here, but two great write-ups of the D80 and the 18-200mm VR lens are here:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d80.htm

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/18200.htm

All my daily pics below for 2006 (in my sig website below) were with my Canon G6...that camera isn't small either, but it does rock!

Sorry for the longer post, Im just happy not to the the only photo geek that drives an Xterra haha

B&H has a bunch of really cheap lightly used 20D's and even a 30D for under $1k.
If you are looking to spend just over $1k, then look into a used 1D.
Best photography purchase I've made so far..

Anyone interested in a lightly used D60 with battery grip? I dont need a backup.

I have an extra one. But how can those things be $12? I should get a couple extra because I want to buy the grip as well.

And oh yea, I'm on that board as well as well the only screen name I've had.... cornick

That's my other option, and another reason why I haven't pulled the trigger on a 20D/30D yet.

Originally posted by cornick:
I have an extra one. But how can those things be $12? I should get a couple extra because I want to buy the grip as well.

And oh yea, I'm on that board as well as well the only screen name I've had.... cornick

Yeah I was surprise how cheap they are too compare to the Canon.

With 2000mA, there's a lot of juice. I've been using it for about 100 shots so far without issues. Super fast free shipping with USPS too.

I also have the grip and with 2 of these, I can go all day.

Wow... This thread has grown in the past several days... I'm really glad to see the "Photogs" come out in our XOC family... Whether it's Nikon or Canon, we are all after the same thing... A great picture to share with everyone... I'm sure we'll start seeing quite a few Christmas pics from our dSLR toys... I know I'll be posting a few... Hehehheehe...

- Air B

PS. Cornick, I replied to your email... Check it out when you've get a chance... PEACE!!

x2

While we're at it, if you have an on-line gallery anywhere, post a link (I know some folks have a link in their profile, so indicate if so).

Here\'s Mine

here is mines:: http://www.kjdragon.smugmug.com/

[shameless plug] Open your own smugmug Account! Use my referral Code 55dPrGid0hKYc and get $5 off your initial subscription fee!! {end shameless plug]

Xorand,
That is a nice simple site you have set up. I've been meaning to do the same.
Beautiful pix too..

Did you make the site yourself or is it offered by a picture hosting service, like the one that
KJDragon posted?

I have over 15 gig of photos that havent been posted or organized for that matter.

Any info or tips would be greatly appreciated.
I am not a web designer.
Thanks!

Pbase allows you to set up your pages however you like. By default, it looks pretty much like my non-linked pages (i.e. the individual picture galleries). You can add cascading style sheet code to each page to customize it how you want it and so forth, so you can really make it fancy, or just keep it simple.

It's $23 a year (payable via Paypal, if you wish) for 400 Meg of storage. While that doesn't sound like a lot, initially, remember that most smart people downsize their images before posting them (so the simple resizing routines on Pbase don't massacre your photos, and so that nobody downloads your originals).

Right now, my stats show that I have 1,010 images online and I'm only using 176 Megs (less than 1/2 ) of my storage. They usually up the storage (for the same price) about once a year or so. When I joined about 16 months ago, they had just changed from 200 Megs to 300 Megs, then, just before I renewed in August, they had upped the 300 to 400. Still only $23 a year.

The best part I like is that they don't have popups, etc. and you can directly link original, medium or small images anywhere (like I do here). Linking an image is as simple as displaying the image in your browser, copy the URL and paste it in your target, adding .JPG to the end of it.

They also give pretty good stats on your profile page, so you can see how many hits you've had. They're also working on adding facilities to allow you to sell your prints directly on your pages.

I've had these batteries for a little more than a year now (they were only 1800mAh then). They lasted me almost (the two in a grip) a week last year at the Big Bend trip before I had to recharge them as we started our return trip home. They are all I use now, and easily run the entire weekend on campouts (that's with no flash, I use an external flash with 2650 NiMH rechargeables that also last the entire weekend on one charge). There's supposed to be a new hybrid technology for NiMH rechargeables, that are supposed to store power much longer when just sitting around, to make using rechargeables easier and not have to charge them up just before you use them. I read about them somewhere a couple of days ago, and saw them in Walmart yesterday. I picked up a couple to test them out, they are only 2500mAh, so they are not as powerful as my current favorite rechargeables, but if they have a better shelf life they could be a lot easier to use.

Things that I like about smugmug.

$39/ yr. Unlimited space to upload photos. Right now, I have over 15GB (that's 15 gigabytes!)of jpgs stored on my site in lots of different galleries. The layout is somewhat customizeable at my current subscription - but if I want, I can go up to a pro account and get more layout - custom passwords - charge for downloads and charge when people order prints, so I can collect any profits from the sale of shots that I take. Not really useful for me right now, but if I choose to try and sell my photos someday, I can. For every referal I find, I get a $10 credit to my next yrs subscription - so 3 referals and I get a free year.

I allow people to download the original jpgs from me (mostly) cause I use my site to share photos with my friends and people from church. I recently discovered that smugmug will give non-profit orgs a free pro account, so I set one up for my church to store church related event photos. If you know of any non-profits who could use this service (church, boy scouts, xterra clubs, toys for tots, etc) here is the contact: http://www.smugmug.com/help/non-profit-free-accounts

Smugmug is one of the few online services that allows my friends to download the original file size/quality. I can turn this off if I choose on a gallery by gallery basis.

No pop-ups or adds, makes it easier for my guests to surf. Reasonably fast display speeds.

I work for a hosting provider, so I just use a regular hosting account, then install a script like Coppermine or Gallery. My coppermine script is throwing errors on the homepage right now, which I have to try and fix.

My daughters site uses Gallery: http://www.jholgate.com/gallery

We use that site to share pictures of our daughter with my family back home in England. They can download the original size etc. Plus Gallery has an awesome upload tool called 'Gallery Remote' which installs on your computer and is a simple Drag / Drop interface for uploading files and creating new albums etc.

I just registered xtisite.com, which will be my main photo site for pics taken with my Rebel XTI, once I get it up and running.

In the Killer Bees Thread, I noticed he said he used a Rebel XT with a 28-135IS lens. From the pictures, it looks like it's a good one. Would you "pros" agree?

the 28-135 IS is not considered a "pro" lens - both in optics and construction. It's probably a high end comsumer level lens. Maybe "prosumer" level. But I can't name many pros who typically carry one.

Then again, mated to an XT is probably ok - since the XT is not a "pro" body anyways.

If you only had room for one lens - the 28-135 isn't a bad choice. Probably well suited for travel, although if you take alot of indoor party pics - 28mm will not be enough for a cropped DSLR sensor. On the zoom end, 135mm is pretty good - especially on a cropped sensor.

Personally, I'm waiting for Canon to come out with their version of the Nikon 18-200VR (MSRP $800). For a "do everything" lens - the Nikon is pretty good and is a popular choice for travel amongst Nikonians. And if you only had room for one lens - that'd be a good one to pick.

Hey hey hey...

Reviving an old thread for the photogs here in XOC... I took these shots here in "chilly" SoCal this morning...

1 of 2 sets:








- Air B

2 of 2 sets:






bbbbuuuuuurrrrrrrrr

I'll post more soon... Enjoy!!

- Air B

edit: the exif are attached to each image if you want to see details of the composition...

We purchased our Canon XTI a few days before Christmas. I've been learning the features, but so far we've used it as a glorified point-and-shoot. Still, I can already do more with it than our old Yashica FR-1 35mm camera. We have put our other 35mm setup, a Minolta Maxxum with extra lenses on ebay.

We are letting our finances recover a bit before we buy extra lenses, etc.

Awesome pics. I'm heading to the Barret Jackson car auction later so might get some nice pics of some sweet rides.

My favorite pic from the last week or so. I just love action shots. (Posted a little large to bring out all the cool detail).



Technical information:
Canon Digital Rebel (300D) 6MP
Canon 18-55mm kit lens at 55mm
1/400s, ISO400, f/7.1

I had it on Av mode (my usual shooting mode) and had accidentally rolled the wheel earlier, which upped the f/stop from my usual 3.5-4.0, so my shutter speed was a little slower than I would've liked, but it still worked well.

Here's a mod for you brave Rebel owners: http://personales.ya.com/javier_laina/ARTICULOS/FILTRO/filtro350deng.html

Originally posted by airbutchie:
I'm really glad to see the "Photogs" come out in our XOC family... Whether it's Nikon or Canon, we are all after the same thing... A great picture to share with everyone...
___________________________________________

Here are some of my pics DonnieandJemie

Nice-looking work, warlock. I like the gallery, too. Pretty neat stuff.

Thanks. I accidentally found the site its origin is in japan. The only thing is it only allows 20mb of up each month.
Im trying to upload some of my nice pics there to kinda build a online portfolio.

Thanks

Since XOC is my "extended" family, here's my photog webpage for ya'll to view...

Air B\'s Photog Webpage!!!

- Butch

I actually still owe you guys a comparison of the kinds of flash diffusers and there effect on a subject.

I have the Gary Fong Clear, Cloud, clear dome, amber dome, and the chrome dome and finally the Joe Demb FlipIt Flash diffusers.

First of, the Photographer on the Net forums are freaking awesome. I've learned so much from looking through those. I just recently got a Canon 5D with a couple of lenses. I've been into photography for a while now but just now getting into the real manual/pro stuff. Been trying to learn settings for dark concert settings and action shots without using a flash. Anyway, last night my band and I had some free time so I goofed around trying to get a hang of the camera and settings. Happy with these first tries. It was really dark to begin with because a few of our lights weren't hooked up yet, so when we get them all hooked up they'll turn out better. Taken with a Canon 50mm lens at 30 / 1.8 and AWB on.

I just added you as a "friend" on my smugmug page.

For anyone who's interested in my latest photo project - I started a new thread here:

http://www.xterraownersclub.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=20;t=011076

Schweet... Thanks KJ... I'll do so, with your smugmug site, in kind...

- Butch

*Bump*

Bring back our photog thread... Just came back from Boise, Idaho to visit my newborn nephew... I was able to go out and have a "photog" day to myself... Here's the fruits of my labor (two sets)...

SET ONE: Landscapes






Early evening using 30sec exposure:


- Air B

SET TWO: Miscellaneous








- Air B

I lied...

SET THREE: Sunsets








- Air B

Very sharp with fantastic colors.

Yup. Very nice. I need a good photography day. Maybe as soon as it warms up.

I've got a bonus coming in from work soon. I'm debating upgrading my big lens to a Canon 70-200 f/4L and selling off my Tamron 70-300 LD Di II.

I've had the Canon before and loved it. Regretted selling it ever since.

ETA: Almost forgot. Here is your's truly with my first camera, circa 1970:

I plan on getting the same Canon soon too - After my Birthday in March. I'm enjoying my XTI, but am a little limited by Glass right now.

Teaser pic, from my first 70-200 f/4L:

1/1250s f/4.0 at 200.0mm iso100

Taken at Boracay Philippines
D70
tokina 12-24mm









Enjoy

Some more
D70
Nikon 70-300mm



[URL=http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n222/warlock586/DSC_0114.jpg]

Thinking off picking up a Sony Alpha A100 10.2MP DSLR Camera for the wife, anyone have any comments on them ?

She is leaning to the Sony because of the lens she already has for the 35mm Minolta which will fit the Sony.

Damn Warlock... Visiting my mother country... Looks like you went when it wasn't too busy... That's usually the best time to go... No crowds and you have the entire beach to yourself... Hehhehhee...

- Air B

PS. Spectacular shots, I may add... Especially the sunset one... Amazingly beautiful!!!

Im practicing off camera flash lately, I thinking of getting the Nikon SU-800 and remote my 4 SB's.
and planning to get 2 sets of 800 alienbees.

what do you guys think?

That is a very nice setup. would only enhance your (from what you have displayed ) allready stellar siklls


Air B, excellent pictures. I have been shooting with my Canon D20 (4 lenses) now for 1.5 years and get really excited when I hit the jack pot. Hopee to be as good as ou one day...great work !

Do you already own 4 CLS compatible SB's? (ie SB600 or SB800) If you do - then getting the SU-800 is an option - but slightly limited in that the remote works via IR, so you'd be limited by available line of site between each individual unit and your source unit.

Have you thought about getting the bullet proof set of pocket wizards? Might be more expensive, but you can buy used non-CLS SB's for under $100 (like the SB-24 or even the Vivitar 285HV)

I'm thinking about going with a "poor-man's off-camera flash system".

Ebay sells used Vivitar 285HV's for like $30 each. (Just think, for the price of ONE SB-600 - you could get like FIVE used Viviars) Then pick up a couple of "ebay radio slaves" for like $40. This won't be as reliable as the pocket wizards - but they should work in alot of environments without limitations of line of site and without the costly price tag of the pocket wizard.

Same or similar CCD technology as what is in most Nikons.

Minolta lenses are a fair investment for the non-pro, but if your wife ever gets into the higher end lenses - she might be outta luck.

In camera stabilization is cool.

Price is good, but I would be worried. Things change quickly in this market. Canon and Nikon are constantly cranking out excellent quality DSLR's and every 6 months the selection changes so dramatically. 3 yrs ago when I bought my D70, it was considered "prosumer" and was the lowest model available for Nikon. Since then they have introduced the D50 and the D40. There's no telling what Sony will do in the next yr or two and what Pentax/Canon/Sigma/Nikon/Fuji/Olympus will do either.

Messed around trying to make my own light box tonight. Just used a bed sheet, two work lights, and a poster board.



Definitely needs work, but I'm pleased with my first try. Taken with my Canon 5D with a 50mm lens. I plan on making one with an actual box this week.

Also have a new site I'm working on. Let me know what you think...

J. Canfield.net

Yes i already own 2 SB-600 and 2 SB-800 the reason i would like to use the SU-800 is to take advantage of the of the TTL features of the Nikon flash light system. I know its limited on the range but ill be using it more on product photography and the Alienbees (800) I will be using with the pocket wizard. Im kinda leaning toward the alienbees than the qflash system, first due to prize and now alien bees has just introduced their battery pack system.
One thing i would like to experiment on is using the X along with a voltage converter to power up the the alienbees offsite.
Do you think that the alternator could handle the load and what would be a nice converter to use to powerup the the aliensbees?

AlienBees B800 Specs

So you want to hook up a power inverter via the 12volt plug in the Xterra to power your Alienbee's while out on location?

I honestly have no clue if that would be a good idea or if it would fry your setup to the high heavens. I have always been all things electrical dumb.

I have a set of studio Novatrons and have toyed with that idea as well, but have never had the guts to try it nor look it up and see if its even a good idea.

Whatever happened to ElectroKen? He would be the ideal person to answer your voltage question.

If you want a portable setup - I think the pocket wizards or SU-800 would be your best options. The SU-800 would be more economical since you wouldn't need to buy separate receivers for each flash and you'd be able to use TTL. You would just have range limitations since IR isn't as flexible as Radio.

Yeah where is ElectoKen, I would be nice if that question could be answered. It would greatly benefit being remote site.

I gather if you could support a winch with the oem electrical the question would be what kind or type of converter to use.

if this is possible i would rather create terminals on the back of my X than purchase batteries

I just found this and thought it might be helpful for you.

http://www.popphoto.com/cameras/3569/10mp-dslr-shootout.html

Made an actual light box tonight. I think I'm getting there...



First Try:


Latest Try:


What do yall think?

The 2nd one came out much better I think cause the surroundings actually look white. I think maybe some of the brown from the cardboard sneaked its way onto the shot (maybe from reflections?) in the first shot.

Great DIY job though.

Also use a higher F stop for better depth of field to make the rear spoiler in focus.
my 2 cents

Another thing - the color temperature of the flood lights you are using might not be "white" - but might have a yellowish temperature to them.

I second warlock on the expanding the DOF. But maybe you were going for the short dof look. If so, nevermind.

Yeah i just throw the dof in there if thats the look your going for like Kj_Dragon said.

PoorBoy: just a suggestion I would like to see it with a Black background this will make the shadow on the bottom stand out. I think it will make a good effect.

also if anybody is interested Im selling my Fuji S3 planning to replace it with the new Fuji S5

Level 9...LOL

Still tweaking some settings...





Got these ideas from Photography on the Net ... the other forum that sucks up all my time.... :p

me likes a lot!!!

Awesome pics dude - I like it.

That's fucken schweet PB... No can you add a miniature female model to hunch its ass over the hood? Hehhehhee....

- Air B

Awesome shots of the XMod G35!!! I belong to a few XMod forums(yeah, I'm a rc geek too), and I have yet to see any pics that came out that nice!!

Reminded me of a pic I took with my Digital Rebel XT last August....

Going through last years photos
I call this Concrete Jungle

and the model

Well just got my hands on a nikon 10.5 FishEye took it for a spin around the area.
the Wife and I

Found some nice rides up front of Dick's sporting goods




[IMG]


Our X and my new project

whatcha think?

I'll trade you my 15mm sigma for your 10mm Nikon?

Woah... Resurrecting a thread from page 4...

Miniature Golf Bokeh:


Staircase Spiral:


X Stickers:


Flower Power:






- Air B

Nice. I need to get out with my camera. Haven't done anything artsy since last year.

Gone out for a photoshot some models this weekend.

Whoa...I now vote Warlock for having the best job on XOC....

It lists the power requirements as 120VAC and 8amps, which is nearly 1000watts per alienbee. That's 80 amps at 12volts or 66.7 at 14.4 volts. You might be able to run one of them with an expensive DC-AC converter, but no chance of running 4 of them at once without some serious cable rewiring and something near a 300amp alternator.

Thanks for the info, I got an alternate power source now that i bring along on my shoots.

Nothing near the quality of some but my favorite pic I have taken so far.

Photography anyone?


Hhehehhehee... Now that I've got your attention, here's a few I took today in SoCal (Corona Del Mar Beach in Newport to be exact):










- Air B

Air B,
You got some foundation there for really great shots - some editing and cropping and you'll have winners!

Note: leave the first shot alone - its fine the way it is.

Shot as a 3rd shooter/Candid's for my friends wedding two weekends ago:

Some teasers:



Nikon D70 | Sigma 15mm Fisheye f2.8 | ISO 800 | f5.6 | 1/30th









The Pro shooters.

Fisheyes can be so frickin' cool.

(What's the white line in the right side pews?)

Great shots KJ... I like being the "unofficial" third wheel photographer... We don't get paid, but we don't have the pressure of getting "the shot"...

BTW, the pro-photographer on the right with that pretty white lens... I just purchased the same... Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L... This glass rocks... Hhehehhehe...

- Air B

PS. What the hell is that white streak, anyhoo?! Could be some sort of ghost or something... Mmmmuuuuhhhhhaaaahhhhhaaaaa!!!

This church has this suspended mic or something hanging from the ceiling with cables stabilizing it in place. That thin white line is one of the cables.

You can see the rest of the mic if you look just above the bride/groom and the other cable just to the right of the cross on the back wall.

Yeah, I know that lens. its awesome. Here's me using one.



But I am more of a Nikon guy though. Here is my D70 with a Sigma 70-200 f2.8 HSM. This pic was taken with a Canon 20D with 70-200 f2.8 IS.

more:

Nikon D70
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom V1.0 only for post-processing.

KJ, those wedding pics look really cool. Not just the pics themselves, but the wedding looked like alot of fun.

Great shots KJ... Love the "behind the scene" shots too...

- Air B

what do you guys think?
Behind Hershey Hotel
Doing some recon for next photoshoot

Here are some pics take from 2004 OC car show




hope you guys like it

Pics taken on the way to Virgina Beach for a graduation/birthday party. I decided to go on a detour going to the party just to drive around and clear my head. when I saw this park.







I would like to Thank All of our Service Men,Women and their families for their sacrifice.

Not sure what lens you've got there, but the vignetting with it is pretty bad. (the darker corners). Other than that nice pictures. Maybe it has something to do with a Nikon taking pictures of a guy using a Canon.

I like the look of the vinetting and so I added it in post with Lightroom. I also overcranked colors to add vibrance - albiet the LCD on my laptop is "off" so alot of these are probably too orange and yellow.

OK that makes sense, I thought it strange it wasn't in all of them, but without the EXIF information I couldn't tell. I had a cheap lens once for my film 35mm, that did it, but only when at the extreme focal length of the zoom. It was very annoying

testing out the ABR800 ring flash and vagabon powersupply from alienbee.







full dump at 300mm

That's a great second shot with the AB, warlock... Very nice!

- airbutchie

Great thread. I recently decided to pick up a Canon EOS 40D - will be traveling to the galapagos islands next month, and decide now was as good as time as any to jump off the fence and commit

I've always preferred Canon's menu systems, and I think they have a better selection of lenses. Plus I have friends with Canon gear who I can swap lenses with That and the Nikon D300 won't be out until November, and will cost $500 more - the 40D is a no-brainer for a higher end "prosumer" camera.

When I get back and want to start playing indoors - great site on lighting:

http://super.nova.org/DPR/

I've been spending so much time in the forums on http://www.dpreview.com that I have a pretty severe headache. Talk about drinking from the fire hose!

So now I just have to find one I screwed up and didn't order one Thursday from Ritz online, or I would have had it yesterday. Now I should have it by Thursday.

Also check out http://strobist.blogspot.com/

Hey Doc... Check out this website for all your Canon questions and such... It's a great site to look over and gather information on whether its lenses and gear... Linky below:

Canon On The Net Website

- Air B

If price was a major factor for you, and you don't mind not having the latest - you probably coulda scored a 30D for cheap since the 40D's are out now. Same for the D200.

I saw a D200 body only on craigslist the other day for $650!!!

Yeah, I ran into that site and it looked like a good one - thanks for the link.

From my other thread:

I had a really bad cold yesterday and last night - I ended up sleeping in this morning. Got up this afternoon, and thought what the heck - I'll check Best Buy again - and they had it in stock! I ordered one over the web, and picked it up tonight:



Hehe - I can't stop playing with it. Damn battery doesn't last long enough.

Damn cold is driving me nuts, though. It's hard to aim the camera when you are either sniffling, coughing or sneezing

One word for that - HOT.

There is no way in hell someone is going to sell a D200 for that price (unless it's stolen or trashed beyond repair). The D100 is still going for around $450-500.

How long does the Canon battery last? Nikon's batteries are incredible - I can use a single battery on the D80 all day long with a pair of 2GB cards - without ever turning off the camera - and still have plenty of juice left over to transfer the entire contents of both to the computer.

Maybe it needs to charge overnight the first time?

My D70 goes a couple hundred shots before one bar disappears from the battery display.

you're probably right. Either that or a complete moron got it as a gift and is selling it.

Either way, I think its a hoax or something cause the person never replied to my email asking to meet him/her at a local starbucks for me to test with my own lens and memory card.

Well, I took several hundred pictures. Just fooling around

And I was using the flash. And live view. I think that's what killed it - you can use the LCD as a viewfinder. It does heat the sensor up and you get some noise (aside from killing the battery). Something to use occasionally, but not all the time.

A friend is loaning me a 100-400L , 70-300 and 10-22 to play with over the weekend.

It's going to be hard giving them back

Oh yeah, that'll do it.

I'm looking forward to the 15th of this month - I'm borrowing a friends Nikon 18-200 VR lens at a Whippet event. Fast dogs require VR!

oh yeah - forgot about live view. DSLR purists probably would frown against it's usage. :p

Aw fuck 'em. Really, it's just another tool. I was talking to my friend who loaned me the lenses (did I mention, it's going to be REALLY hard to give them back? They are sitting next to me right now) the whole "purist" thing is like the Unix elitists - if you haven't "suffered" through obscure trivia and quirky equipment you aren't worthy of partaking in the "craft".

Whatever :rolleyes: I'm going to enjoy my camera and all of it's features (including the pre-set modes as well as fiddling with the manual settings) and all their snooty turning up of their noses won't change that in the least

Bumping this thread back up.

So I wanted to thank everyone that has contributed to this thread as it had helped me with quite a few of my decisions when buying my first d-SLR, lens, and other bits.

Here's my set up:


Canon DRebel XTi
EF-S 17-55 w/image stabilizer
Opteka battery grip

And a few of my pics taken with it:


Flying fan at the SF MOMA


Tigers


Don't Jump








At the San Jose GP

I just bought this for $130. It was in the wrong spot in Circuit city and they gave it to me for that price. Sweet huh!

Which circuit city and do they have more???

Hey Tyler, it was the Circuit City right by my place on Platte and Academy in CS.

I do not think that they have anymore, however, they are notoious for leaving advertisments up when they are not supposed to be there anymore.

Example. About 9 months ago, I bought a TV from there. I boutght a 1080 Samsung 56" TV. It was normally something like 2700 and it was on sale for 2100. The sticker was up but th sale had expired. I had them price match it it Best buy and got it for 2000. I found a sign that said that free MP3 player with purchase. That offer was no longer valid, but the sign was there. They got the MP3 player and had to give me the TV for $1800 and just give me the MP3 player with it. I also got them to give me a TV stand that normally costs $350 for $200 because of a sticked that was no longer valid.

So.... Doc.... Any sample pics from your 40D laying around?! Post post post my friend!!!

And soccerbrace, you actually got the 40D from Circuit City for $130 because of a price mistake? Holla back on that story...

- Air B

Either consider the Circuit City staff to be VERY nice, or very stupid.

They are NOT required to honor those expired sales signs.

Just a heads-up for all you Canon dSLR photogs...

Canon's Fall 2007 Instant Rebates:


Linky: Canon Fall 2007 Instant Rebates

- Air B

Another heads up. Need a special lens for a special occasion?

Lens Rental

ETA: Haven't used them but if I was going to Alaska again this year I'd be picking up one of those top end telephoto lenses for sure.

Well, I'm bringing this fucker back for just a bit... I can't always post on "Phat Chick Fridays", so I wanted to share a few pics from several recent photoshoots...

First, the equipment used:








- Air B

I'll do three sets of five to six pictures...

SET ONE:










- airbutchie

SET TWO: Plethora-O-Cars!!!












- airbutchie

SET THREE: Various Shots












- airbutchie

Nice shots Air B, is that two XTi's you have now?

Also is XOC super slow for anyone else?

Oh and to continue this thread I recently went to NYC and took a few pics.


NYC Apple Store


Fall Colors


Central Park


Grand Central Station


The view from the top of the Rockerfeller


Brooklyn Bridge

The rest can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hogre/sets/72157603357980887/

^ Yup... I have two XTi bodies Huey... Thanks for the comment!!!

- airbutchie

Great pics me likes.

The wife got me an XTi for Christmas but she won't let me have it until then and the waiting is killing me.

Great pics btw.

Even though I prefer Nikon, I figured I'd post this for anyone looking to get their first DSLR:

Rebel XT body for $382

(Note - it's body only, and NOT the XTi, but still a great deal.

I've been playing with my studio set-up at my house for the past couple of days. ( ***as seen here*** )

Here is the studio/lighting setup that I used to capture these.

* The background supports are made from PVC pipes,
* Black and white bedsheets
* Novatron K-V240D-2C provide the lighting.



The complete set can be seen ***HERE*** and ***HERE*** .

I also have decided to sell my "gimic" lens - the Sigma 15mm f2.8 Fisheye. I bought this beauty back in 2003 from ebay brand new - for $350 (I got a great deal!!) . I just checked and this exact lens NEW on ebay is still about $450-500. I figure I the used value of this lens is still around $350 which means I should be able to sell it and "break even".

As you can see here - its in excellent condition. I estimate that its only been used about 10 times per yr for the last 4 yrs.








On a film SLR - this baby can view 180 degrees. When I use it on my Film Nikon N80, I have to be careful that my toes are not in the shot!

Sample shots using this lens coming up.

All taken using the Sigma Fisheye 15mm f2.8 on either a Nikon N80 or D70.

(Edit Per Mobycats Suggestion: All these example shots were taken from the Nikon N80 35mm Film Camera - with some cropping after they were scanned to digital. The last shot of the Belagio Fountains was shot from the D70 on a cropped digital frame)

You should say which is which. There's going to be a big difference on how that lens looks on a 35mm camera and a "non-full-sized" digital.

Hey Butchie, what day did you go to the LA Auto Show? I was there with my dad on the Friday after Thanksgiving

I have a few up:

http://web.mac.com/docno27

The site sucks, I literally threw it together in 10 minutes. Click on albums at the top of the page.

I'll be putting the rest of the 10 days up tomorrow and Saturday. I also have some cool pics of some of the leaves and scenery around here, and the Macy's thanksgiving day parade.

I really love this camera! And now that the D300 reviews are out, I don't feel bad about having to get the 40D before I could compare both - there doesn't appear to be enough of a swing between the two to get really worked up over.

I'm now considering getting up before sunrise on Saturday's because the light is better

Cool shots - I need to get out more...

Hey Chef... My co-workers and I were there a week prior during media day... We get in free because our gov't agency deals with the automotive industry...

They had pretty sick concept cars, eh?!

- airbutchie

PS. Nice light setup KJ... I'm currently looking into Alien Bees... My next step in to get into portraiture compositions...

Thanks Doc... How's the 40D treatin' ya these days?!

- Air B

Fine! I do need to get out more. I have my own little ghetto setup in my basement - I photographed an award a team I am on got - it was green glass - played around with the lights and got some cool shots. I love my 100mm macro lens, and need to start playing around with it more now that the weather has turned nasty...

It finally arrived, my new toy
Nishika 3D N8000 with Nishika twin light 3010
cant wait to get fresh film and start test driving this toy.