Ugh about to pull the trigger on the FujiFilm X-T1 with the 18-135 3.5 for $1899.

-Wish the 16-55 2.8 WR wasn't $1050...

[Edited on August 23, 2015 at 6:09 PM. Reason : s]

8/23/2015 5:55:02 PM

^^ no

^ i'm not up on fuji lenses, is the 16-55 old enough for there to be decently priced used ones floating about?

8/24/2015 1:03:47 PM

http://www.fujifilmusa.com/products/digital_cameras/x-lenses/#zoom

No both the 18-135 WR and the 16-55 WR are new I believe. The weather proof versions really interest me as a lot of my shooting would be outdoors on backpacking or other trips.

Leaning towards the kit with the 18-135 WR.

I really like the look of the new Graphic Silver edition but don't think it's worth the extra $250-300 if it's identical in every other way.

You have the regular black one?

8/24/2015 1:12:26 PM

Do any of you Raleigh Camera folks know of a camera store that might be interested in buying an old (like early 80s?) 35mm film camera. eBay is telling me that there is some interest in this model, I just don't have a clue about local shops.

9/18/2015 3:53:53 PM

Peace St. Camera and Southeastern Camera are both in Raleigh and buy used gear of value.

I'd recommend checking out Southeastern first. In my experience their staff is much friendlier.


What kind of camera is it?

9/18/2015 4:07:39 PM

^thanks!

Konica autoreflex T3N. It has a Fortron 60-150mm and an Osawa 52mm lenses + some other accessories (filters, old flashes, etc.) . Any of that mean anything to you?

9/18/2015 4:18:20 PM

Not camera related but nice to see a TWWer in the news for something good for once!

http://www.wral.com/raleigh-hosting-national-stay-at-home-dad-convention/14925747/

And of course it features some pretty great photos of him and his kids!

[Edited on September 26, 2015 at 9:27 AM. Reason : ]

9/26/2015 9:23:49 AM

Hey thanks for the shoot-out dude. Now you guys may see why I post so many shots of my kids. Check out #AHDCon on Flickr and Instagram for pics from the weekend.

We also had long lost user PhotogRob as our event photographer for a couple of days and I can post up links to his work once I've got it in.

9/28/2015 9:43:43 AM

Was up in the mountains this weekend and got a ton of photos. I had a quadcopter out last night while stargazing in the driveway of my parents place.

10/18/2015 11:44:48 PM

Some pics from our fair trip

10/23/2015 7:41:59 PM

Wow...really good stuff there.^

10/25/2015 10:44:49 PM

agreed

10/25/2015 11:32:23 PM

^^^ do you hide EXIF? For some reason I don't even see it available directly on Flickr

10/25/2015 11:35:11 PM

Not intentionally. I have Lightroom strip everything but copyright info for client work and never bother changing it when exporting to my own sites.

If you've got questions about photos I can post the specifics for shots if you want.

10/26/2015 8:51:16 AM

Whats your opinion on mirrorless cameras TWW?

10/26/2015 9:39:02 AM

Not quite as reflective

10/26/2015 9:40:07 AM

^^ i have a sony a6000 and it's really great, but it goes through some damn batteries

the thing i like most is being able to see the actual image exactly how it is going to look, and also being able to use zebra pattern. I don't do fast action stuff, but the viewfinder would probably have a little bit of noticable lag for fast action.

10/26/2015 9:43:56 AM

I'm looking at getting a camera and wanting to spend less than 1k, so would a mirrorless like the sony a6000 be something I should I get?

10/26/2015 9:55:42 AM

Is that less than $1000 for the body or body and a kit or other lens? The Fuji Xt10 is pretty popular and you can get a body and lens combo easily for under $700-800. The popular graphite edition is on sale for $999 with a 18.55 F2.8:

http://www.amazon.com/Fujifilm-X-T10-Silver-Mirrorless-F2-8-4-0/dp/B00X7QTTME/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1445868130&sr=8-1&keywords=xt10

10/26/2015 10:02:57 AM

ok, been starting the process of looking for a new SLR body-- currently have a canon XSi, about 8 years old now.

how do we feel about mirrorless vs SLRs at this point?

on the SLR front, the 70D is my current favorite.

I've read a handful of reviews/articles that claim mirrorless cameras are as good as SLRs for the vast majority of applications, but would be more interested in anecdotes from people who switched from an SLR to a mirrorless, as there's otherwise plenty of objective info out there.

10/26/2015 10:14:16 AM

I don't own a mirrorless (yet) but I'm hoping to pick up a Fuji soon. I have however shot with my friend's A7 and he loves it and was a huge DSLR photographer prior to switching. He also travels a lot and he said it's made a world of difference as the smaller body is much easier to travel with. Depending on how much you want to spend if you get a nice mirrorless (A7II is really nice) and some nice glass it's going to be the same for 99% of applications IMHO especially if you're not shooting professionally. I've heard people say it makes shooting more fun as the camera is lighter, easier to take places, and easier to manipulate than past larger DSLRs they've used.

10/26/2015 10:38:15 AM

Yeah, I'm not shooting professionally and really just looking for something nicer for vacations/travel pictures than a camera normal 200 buck digital camera.

Any thoughts on the A5100?

[Edited on October 26, 2015 at 10:40 AM. Reason : a ]

10/26/2015 10:39:31 AM

DPreview has a few great mirrorless buying guides. The a6000 is a great buy for the money but if you're willing to spend at least $1000 I'd maybe look at something slightly nicer. I've also been in the market for a camera so I've been searching around.

^Again the a5100 is an even cheaper version (can get the body for $399). You can always invest in some nice glass but at some point you don't want to go too cheap on the body. You can probably get a $600-700 point and shoot that will take better quality photos than the 5100 with a kit lens. It just depends how much you want to spend.

[Edited on October 26, 2015 at 10:44 AM. Reason : s]

10/26/2015 10:43:26 AM

i researched extensively and played with both for a long time and decided that the slight extra cost for the a6000 was worth it

having a viewfinder is worth an extra $100 just by itself

10/26/2015 10:59:39 AM

I have a Nikon D3100 and I'm terrible with it. I still shoot in auto and I never get good pictures with it. For whatever reason, I just cant wrap my head around all the manual settings and when I research extra lenses, my head starts spinning. lol

10/26/2015 11:06:45 AM

dtownral, how do you like it? Do you shoot with just automatic or do all the manual settings?

10/26/2015 11:41:50 AM

I change a lot of settings. adjusting things take a couple hours of playing with to learn (they are a bit different than the typical Nikon or Canon setup) but are easy to use. It's nothing like the confusing NEX menu's, if you don't already know the Nikon/Canon system it will be very intuitive.

[Edited on October 26, 2015 at 12:15 PM. Reason : no idea why i added an apostrophe, whatevs though]

10/26/2015 12:15:05 PM

Damn it. That honey pic has stock seller written all over it. Too bad I missed it. Probably won't sell as a DSLR shot, but I bet you could get a few bucks on a regular basis if it was a cell phone shot (much less competition, buyers seem not to care).

My dream camera is mirrorless . Waiting for the RX1 to come down to the $700 used point and then find one in a pawn shop for $500. Looking at three kids in private school sort of blew up the budget for anything other than groceries for the next 10 years or so. At least my RX100 and D7100 kit will last me until then. Will just have to pay cash and hide the RX1 from my wife like an affair cell phone if I can find one.

10/26/2015 8:27:32 PM

Quote :

"I have a Nikon D3100 and I'm terrible with it. I still shoot in auto and I never get good pictures with it. For whatever reason, I just cant wrap my head around all the manual settings and when I research extra lenses, my head starts spinning. lol"

Might be worth your while to take a class. I was struggling with some of the settings on my T2i after purchase and I found a 2-hour "walk around and shoot" type of class on groupon for something like $75. Helped a lot as I was able to ask exactly what I needed to know and the pro offered a lot of helpful advice.

If nothing else, learn how to use the light meter, and it will make full manual mode a LOT more intuitive.

10/28/2015 9:49:46 PM

Classes are great and I definitely recommend them. At the very least, there's ton of tutorials on YouTube that can teach you the basics, but there's really no substitute for a class where you'll be around other people and get help from the teacher.

10/28/2015 10:29:49 PM

Getting good constructive criticism is a great way to learn to. Find a club/group/forum that is active with a few experienced members that regularly offer critiques.

Its really easy to get stuck in a rut when you're only feedback is "great pic" but finding someone that can pick apart a photo in a helpful way is a great way to see your mistakes and how to fix them in the future.

10/29/2015 10:26:40 AM

Quote :

"Some pics from our fair trip"

Your framing on that honey pic made my OSD side feel very satisfied.

10/29/2015 10:33:36 AM

Thanks. I rarely take centered or symmetrical shots since my own OCD kicks in and there's always something small that ruins it for me.

Once I cropped this one though I felt pretty satisfied, everything was lined up just as I saw it and for once I couldn't nit pick it to pieces.

[Edited on October 29, 2015 at 10:40 AM. Reason : ]

10/29/2015 10:40:09 AM

Yeah one of my big pet peeves is poorly framed or cropped photos.

e.g. having a tree coming out of somethings head or large objects that are uneven or asymmetrical enough that they pull focus from the main subject of the photo.

There's obviously exceptions to every rule but IMO framing a photograph is one of the first things someone should learn. You can nail lighting, white balance, focus, shutter speed, aperture and have a horribly framed photo that ruins the whole picture. Framing a photo is also something that doesn't require learning all the mechanics, buttons, settings, or nuances of a particular camera.

Also learning the difference between when you should take a portrait versus a landscape shot is key to framing a photo. Why looking through people's FB photos always gives me a headache.

10/29/2015 11:01:15 AM

Looking for some tips on concert shooting. And sorry to noob up this thread as I just got my sister's old t3i and haven't really used an SLR much before. And yes, I've googled this and read a bunch of the "Concert Photography Tips" pages. After reading those and this being my first time trying, I shot on Aperture Priority mode with f/3.5 (which is the lowest option) and quickest shutter speed (I forget what).

So with those settings I was having trouble getting crisp shots as any movement was getting picked up (and this was a VERY low key band). Even when I got completely still shots, the end results just seemed like there was a lot of crispness lost compared to shooting in normal light conditions (which may just be expected no matter what). I realize that concert pics are difficult, so my question is if I shoot with and really learn manual mode will I be able to get great concert shots with practice, even for bands that move around a lot, or do I need to buy a much quicker lens if I'm ever going to be able to get good low light/heavy movement pictures?

For reference, the lens I have is: EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5.5.6 IS II and here are the 3 best pics from the show, with at least half being garbage





Thanks for any help!

10/29/2015 11:34:19 AM

Nvm. I don't have access to the re-sized images on this work computer. Don't wan to blow up the thread with large pictures.

My actual camera skills are meh at best. I need to take some serious time to learn (most of my shots are interior, on a tripod with remote shutter, so I've had a lot more flexibility which is a crutch). But ^^ made me think of this. In my work messing around with interior shots, I've focused on a lot on framing the photo and figuring out what I wanted to show and what I didn't want to show etc. I think I've gotten halfway interesting at styling and framing some interior vignettes. I'll post links to a few for now (I think I showed them in the DIY or interior design thread before but oh well).

http://jamienickerson.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/living-room2_houzz-843x1024.jpg

http://jamienickerson.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/hersnightstand1_resized.jpg

http://jamienickerson.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/entryway.jpg

http://jamienickerson.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/hisnightstand1_houzz.jpg


Also interested in ^ topic.


[Edited on October 29, 2015 at 11:54 AM. Reason : ]

10/29/2015 11:45:34 AM

^^ how are you focusing? what focusing mode is the camera using and how are you taking the picture?

10/29/2015 11:50:20 AM

I'm going to say "auto" since the real answer is I don't, I let the camera do it.

10/29/2015 11:56:26 AM

right, the camera focuses. which mode is the camera in for focusing? one shot? ai servo? ai focus?

what focus point are you using? auto? single?

so when you take a picture you just push the shutter, you aren't pre-focusing and then moving the camera or anything are you?

10/29/2015 11:59:44 AM

Will have to get back to this thread after work when I have the camera in front of me to answer about the camera mode and focus point. Off hand I don't know

When I take a picture I push down halfway, let it focus, and then press the rest of the way. I don't then move the camera really unless I'm trying to focus on something in particular and then reframe. My thinking on doing this is to keep my hand movements to a minimum by pressing as little as possible at a time. Is this a bad way to shoot?

10/29/2015 12:05:05 PM

your focus and reframing will make your shots out of focus that close up

try switching to ai-servo and use backbutton focusing

[Edited on October 29, 2015 at 12:11 PM. Reason : .]

10/29/2015 12:09:35 PM

OK thanks...will try those things...thanks

10/29/2015 12:13:21 PM

One thing I've heard rave reviews about (especially on the Fuji X-T1) is the viewfinder and it's ability to zoom in and let you get a picture perfectly in focus compared to trying to focus on a traditional DSLR.

10/29/2015 12:19:29 PM

Quote :

"So with those settings I was having trouble getting crisp shots as any movement was getting picked up (and this was a VERY low key band). Even when I got completely still shots, the end results just seemed like there was a lot of crispness lost compared to shooting in normal light conditions (which may just be expected no matter what). "

Sharp detail is one area of photographer where equipment really does make a difference. When you want fast shutters in low light you need to be able to shoot at higher ISOs and larger apertures. Older & consumer level DSLRs typically don't have the kind of high quality ISOs that you would want. You can easily shoot at 800 or 1600 and get the image you want, but you'll sacrifice a lot of color quality and sharpness.

Your lens is going to make a big difference too. Most of my friends that shoot concerts carry prime lenses with big apertures like f/1.4 or f/1.8 and f/2.8 would be the cap for me when trying to shoot in a situation like this.

The reason that makes a difference is that at your best f/3.5, you may have a 2 second exposure in dark conditions, but a f/1.4 would be 1/4 second. This means less motion blur and less camera shake.

If you can get your shutter speed into a manageable range with larger apertures, then you can knock down the ISO and get crisper images and better colors.

Also, if you're limited by your equipment, then don't critique yourself on those limitations. You won't get better by finishing up and then saying "well if I had a f/1.8 then I'd be a better photographer."

Quote :

"if I shoot with and really learn manual mode will I be able to get great concert shots with practice, even for bands that move around a lot, or do I need to buy a much quicker lens if I'm ever going to be able to get good low light/heavy movement pictures?"

Learning to shoot manual is a great idea. It forces you to think about each shots lighting conditions and how things change from second to second. With concerts, lights and shadows move ALOT and your exposures will change drastically. Being able to anticipate change and understand EVERYTHING your camera is seeing is crucial.

Then, once you've learned how to shoot in manual, you'll be better prepared to shoot in other modes and understand what each mode does. I typically shoot in AV with spot metering, but will float back to manual if I can count on lighting remaining constant or if the meter isn't doing what I want.

Quote :

"For reference, the lens I have is: EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5.5.6 IS II and here are the 3 best pics from the show, with at least half being garbage."

Don't be discouraged by the amount of garbage shots. Measure your success by the best images you came out with. A lot of photographers shoot hundreds or thousands of images at an outing. The first thing they do when they get back is edit all the garbage shots out. I typically go through several rounds of culling for various factors before I have a working set of images that I can begin post on.

Quote :

" how are you focusing? what focusing mode is the camera using and how are you taking the picture?"

This is a good question to answer and understand. There are several different ways to focus with most cameras. Learn what each setting does and their benefits.

I also recommend switching your camera to back-button focusing. I can't stand the Shutter button having AE and AF tied together, and it can be frustrating when shooting anything other than static subjects or snapshots.

[Edited on October 29, 2015 at 12:29 PM. Reason : ]

10/29/2015 12:21:56 PM

awesome, thanks guys

10/29/2015 1:55:56 PM

also if you want to post more pics for advice, use another site to host them, the image compression on this site is pretty bad

10/30/2015 9:05:55 AM

Quote :

"Getting good constructive criticism is a great way to learn to. Find a club/group/forum that is active with a few experienced members that regularly offer critiques."

I definitely want to second this. Before I moved back to the Triangle I was in a local photo club. It was mainly older retirees and some hobbyists, but a few folks were quite good and I learned a lot from meetings and group critiques.

Another thing that helped me out so much was just going on photo walks with Mtan Man214 and seeing him at work. Especially if the other photographer(s) are willing to talk about how they are shooting, what settings they are using, etc. I got a lot out of that and when this site was more active I was hoping to get some TWW photo shoots, but this site has an anemic base at this point with the time and interest to do this.

More recently I have been watching Lynda and several Youtube photo channels, reading Popular Photography, and shooting everywhere. My best help has been having a coworker who started this year and who has a BFA in Photography. She and I have very similar styles of photography, but we also have very different strengths (I'm better at people/event photography, she is great at macro/animal photography) so we both push each other in our weaker areas and critique each others shots. We did a photoshoot yesterday together and then went over shots afterwards. Stuff like that is a fantastic way to learn from another pro. I have also shadowed and did second shooter duty for a pro as well, so that was another cool way to learn more.

[Edited on November 1, 2015 at 10:08 AM. Reason : ]

11/1/2015 10:08:28 AM

Shooting with others was a huge part of how I learned to get better while in school.
If anyone is in the Raleigh area, I'd suggest joining the Raleigh Photo Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/188327231182706/

I've lurked this group for a while I think a lot of clubs and groups are over run with amateurs or out of date pros, but this group seems to be very active and younger. While the skill levels range from novice to pro, they have been surprisingly positive and helpful, with meetups getting scheduled fairly often.

11/2/2015 10:07:25 AM

I need to look into that locally for me. I think even being casually involved in something like that would give me some extra incentive to carve out a little more time with the camera.

11/2/2015 10:24:01 AM

on a DX camera would you rather have a 24-70 f/2.8 or a 55 f/1.4 for taking photos of family and kids inside medium size rooms on Christmas

I like the convenience of the zoom but I'm not sure if I will be able to get the background soft enough with the 24-70. Both belong to my dad and I can only borrow one since he needs the other (he has no preference).

(I'm also thinking about renting a 70-200 f/2.8 in case the weather is nice to get good shots of the kids playing outside)

12/7/2015 11:05:00 AM