Quote :

"What makes it so good for portraits?"

why dont you google it and find out

8/18/2008 2:21:38 PM

Because apparently you're a wealth of knowledge and this IS the digital SLR thread.

8/18/2008 3:29:58 PM

im still not going to do your research for you
dont you want to start a business? then start reading.

8/18/2008 4:18:08 PM

the 85 is the sweet spot for portraits. I really want to save up money to get the 85 f/1.2 L lens, That or the 135 f/2 is another good one. The 50 is not bad for portraits, but its one of those mixed focal lengths as you can use it for portraits, but really anything that's low light.

There's already too many other lens I want to get before the 85 so I doubt I'd get one anytime soon to play with. Besides, the 24-70 (the 70 end) at f/4 works just as good and still tack sharp.

I just borrowed my friend's 5D this weekend (he borrowed my 30D - bought a whole 5D package and finds out the lens that he bought for it were efs not ef) and man... I don't want to give it back. What a fantastic body that is. The 24 is super wide on a FF camera.

8/18/2008 4:25:50 PM

If the 5D Mark II can come out this year and stop being vaporware ill get it as my main camera for iraq, with my 40D pulling backup duty. I really want the supposed weather sealing the mark II is getting.

8/18/2008 4:49:17 PM

yeah, I was waiting for the 5D mkII for so long, but I couldn't wait anymore. There was rumors it was suppose to come out in Feb so I waited that long till I found a good deal on the 1D mkIIn. Besides, the 1D is great for sports, specially when paired with my tele's. Now I wished I waited cause I see the mkIII's for cheap now. Saw one the other day for 2850 with two batteries.

8/18/2008 4:56:09 PM

^, ^^ all three of us are in the same boat for the 5D. I just about bought one last week but the guy decided not to take paypal at the last minute. They can be had for 1800 now with the grip included. Lets hope the replacement comes out in Sept at Photokina.

[Edited on August 18, 2008 at 7:22 PM. Reason : ]

8/18/2008 7:10:00 PM

sooo if anybody look at this thread is cool with pentax...

pentax ist ds kit at wolf camera is discontinued and selling for under 300 dollars. still have them in the warehouse.

8/18/2008 7:26:32 PM

http://www.karikuukka.com/peking2008/100m/
Look at all the purdy white lenses

8/18/2008 11:45:29 PM

^^^ My friend got the 5D with grip, card, 2 batts for 1400 flat. And the guy was local. It has some scratches and other cosmetic issues, but it works perfectly fine. I see just the body on potn for 1400 from time to time. I honestly can't believe how little noise it has compared to even my 1D at ISO 3200. I just hope the next 5D can compete with the D300/700.

^mmm, white never looked so good... I wonder if anyone is sporting the new 800mm canon's (if those are even out). I like the row of remote camera's on the track too.

I just got my 30D setup for remote triggering and I sorta got it worked out now where I put one on the tripod and use my 1D to trigger the camera while both using the same studio lights. Effectively, two shooters for one person. Might try to see if I can add a 3rd camera in the mix using the same sync speeds. I'll have to wait till another fashion show to try this, maybe sparkcon if I'm around (although, they were complete assholes to me last year).

8/19/2008 2:19:37 AM

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&A=RetrieveSku&IC=CA80056LISEF&Q=

800mm in stock, should yee have the funds

8/19/2008 8:35:26 AM

^^^ lol at the dude on a laptop on the aisle, kinda behind the camera

8/19/2008 8:43:18 AM

So I got the 300 paid off, but I have like no money. Trying to schedule a trip to Indy for the motoGP race and really can't afford to buy a $300 airport camera luggage to haul the 300 on a plane. Anyone have some tips or advice on what to get that's reasonable? I do have the plastic hard case for it, but it's really big and bulky to carry around. Just want something reasonable to carry on board.

8/19/2008 3:14:30 PM

Why not stick it in a bookbag style camera bag and use it as your carry on so you can take care of it? At least then you don't have to worry about the baggage folks tossing it around.

[Edited on August 19, 2008 at 3:23 PM. Reason : l]

8/19/2008 3:23:14 PM

carry on isn't checking the bag in at the front counter. You "carry it on" and store it above or below your seat. Most bookbag types of camera bags usually can't handle a 300 + camera + other accessories (2 bodies, 24-70, 70-200, 430ex, laptop). I'll probably go to peace or southeast tomorrow to see what's out there. Besides, I'd rather have one dedicated bag for camera stuff then a small carry on for clothes and stuff.

[Edited on August 19, 2008 at 8:05 PM. Reason : ]

8/19/2008 8:04:10 PM

so do most people out there (that aren't pro's) use D40's? anyone use D60's or D80's?

anyone prefer Canon (if so which one)?

i'm looking to get a DSLR this Christmas, I'd like a body & lens kit that's under $600-$700

i currently have a Sony DSC-H5 advanced P&S and LOVE it, i just want the full features of an DSLR now.

8/19/2008 8:07:38 PM

D40 is actually an amazing camera. One of the few ccd sensor dslr on the market. The really amazing thing is that you can sync the camera up to 1/2000th of a second to studio strobes... that's just crazy. And yes, I've tried this out. I was dumbfounded when Paul C Buff released his findings. The D40 kits are pretty good and damn cheap.

8/19/2008 9:42:42 PM

I use the D80 and love it! I do wish I had more fps and better iso performance, but beyond that, I'm quite happy!!

8/19/2008 10:42:12 PM

I take that back skack. I think I found this:

http://www.naneupro.com/products/ug-u220/#

[Edited on August 19, 2008 at 11:13 PM. Reason : ]

8/19/2008 11:12:57 PM

sweet thx

8/20/2008 12:20:00 AM

^^ That's pretty sweet. I'm rocking a Canon bookbag right now, but it does not have room for a laptop.

I'm debating between the Canon 40D and the Rebel XSi right now. I really want the extra fps for action shots, but it seems like the XSi is a much better bang for the buck.

8/20/2008 12:29:40 AM

If 40D is in your budget, grab it. So worth it compared to the XSi. What camera body do you have right now?

8/20/2008 2:00:33 PM

8/20/2008 7:35:28 PM

^^ 300D.
It's just a matter of what I'm willing to spend for a hobby. I don't know if the 40D is worth it.

8/20/2008 7:52:34 PM

Could have gotten the 40D kit at Dell for 824 + tax yesterday... Its a little above $1000 which is still not bad for a kit.

http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?sduid=59242&t=900505&highlight=dell+accessories

8/20/2008 9:52:10 PM

as a reminder, the flickr group contest is on starting this week, open theme & basic edits

http://www.flickr.com/groups/twwphotoclub/

there's only five people in there, so join up.

8/21/2008 9:47:03 AM

i just joined.
thanks for setting this up

8/21/2008 9:49:24 AM

Quote :

"Could have gotten the 40D kit at Dell for 824 + tax yesterday"

That stinks. Shoot me a PM if you see that deal pop up again.

I'll probably buy the kit, but I don't know if I'd use the 28-135mm lens that comes with it or stick it on my 300D and sell it. My main lens is a Tamron Di 18-200mm right now. I'd probably just have to shoot with both of them on the 40D body and see which one I want to keep.

8/21/2008 10:12:21 AM

I joined and will try to participate from time to time.

8/21/2008 12:57:01 PM

Get used one off of ebay. you'll love the fps and larger viewscreen

8/21/2008 3:16:02 PM

I bought my 300D off ebay and had a good experience, but I'm not buying anymore used camera gear unless it's from a local seller that I have some reason to trust. There are too many little things that can go wrong that would make it flaky as hell, but not really "broken." I'm thinking in the lens department mostly.

I don't even like the idea of any of my gear going through FedEx or UPS' hands.

8/21/2008 3:25:38 PM

just get it from a reputable dealer. A lot of businesses actually have an ebay store front.

8/21/2008 4:54:56 PM

now they are just being dicks with the no 5D mark II info, the 40D is only 1 year old wtf

Quote :

" Canon EOS 50D Leaks on Canon China Site It looks like data on the upcoming Canon EOS 50D DSLR has been leaked onto the web, by Canon itself. Details appeared briefly on Canon's China site, although the link now is disabled, and gave an insight into what specs the beast will have. They're pretty decent: it's a 15.1-megapixel camera (with standard 1.6x CMOS sensor factor) with a 9-segment AF/AE sensor array, 95% view viewfinder and shoots at ISO 100 to 3200, with an "expansion" to 6400 and 12800. There's also face recognition auto focus, 6.3 frames-per-second high-speed shooting, and 14-bit image processing by the Digic 4 processor. Interestingly it'll have an HDMI output too. Obviously we'll have to wait for a proper release to know more—including data on prices and release dates. http://gizmodo.com/5040361/canon-eos-50d-leaks-on-canon-china-site "

8/22/2008 10:25:29 AM

I just bought my wife the D40 with the kit lens plus the 55-200 lens and carrying case for her birthday.
she will get it on sept. 7 and look forward to posting some pictures in here! i'm sure she will love it

8/22/2008 7:25:11 PM

I used to work for UPS, and while it's a good company, I'd NEVER EVER ship anything as delicate as a lens or expensive body through them (or fedex or dhl, any of'em)


never.

8/22/2008 7:58:12 PM

The first one is a cracked 'branch' outside of The Raleigh Apts yesterday. Took out a couple cars. The Saturn is trashed, completely. Two-three other cars were smashed pretty hard too.
The second is some bird like creature by my front door

8/22/2008 8:08:31 PM

Shrapnel, that's exactly how rumors of the 40D was started out with one one "so called found on their international website" then an obvious PS fake picture to go along with it.

8/22/2008 8:10:21 PM

^^Wish you got a closer shot of the cars... And I think the second one was a moth maybe?

8/22/2008 9:43:00 PM

I think I've seen that same moth. I've got pictures somewhere.

8/23/2008 12:59:34 AM

look at one cody took last night




this is not my favorite. there are some that are way more kick ass. but its the only one i have uploaded at the moment

8/23/2008 11:08:32 AM

8/23/2008 11:13:35 AM

for those with the D40. do you take most of your pictures on auto? do you find that auto takes decent shots or do you manually adjust the aperature/iso/shutter speed to tweak things?

8/23/2008 10:34:50 PM

I think the auto takes decent shots as long as you get the focus right. I'm still learning but I'm finding manual is better for certain settings depending on the outcome you want and if you ave enough time to get that setting...

8/23/2008 10:40:06 PM

Super compressed and just a snap shot, but here is the smashed car from the end of page 67. Huge branch came off an old tree and crushed a couple cars. Most of them just had moderate damage, the saturn wasnt so lucky

8/23/2008 11:09:42 PM

That's crazy! What a photo op!

8/23/2008 11:11:56 PM

Nice shot of the dog, Kiwi. That shot of the cars is crazy!

As to whether or not the D40 takes good shots on Auto -- they're decent. I usually leave mine in Program mode, so that I choose whether or not I want the flash to be used. If I want complete control I set it to M. I haven't used Auto in a long time.

8/23/2008 11:50:49 PM

Not a macro...




I found a macro/fisheye lens that you put on a nikon 18-55mm for 40 bucks on ebay, scam? Good piece of equipment?

8/24/2008 10:10:37 AM

^Great stuff. Not a scam. Not a good piece of equipment. It only further degrades the quality of your lens. That lens isn't very high quality to begin with.

8/24/2008 12:14:53 PM

I thought it might be too good to be true.

8/24/2008 1:29:23 PM

^ don't some of the longer zooms have macro settings? I'm thinking that something like the 70-300 would be inexpensive and serve double duty here.

@Bdub: I shoot on aperture priority most of the time. This lets me set the aperture I want (small number = open wide if I need a lot of light or if I want a short depth of field, large number if I want more depth of focus. I like 7-10 for people, it's odd to get someone's eyes in focus but not their ears.) the camera sets the shutter speed automatically.

Put ISO auto on! You can control the slowest shutter speed that the camera will select, and then it will increase the ISO in low light conditions to get the right exposure. Try setting the min shutter speed to 1/60 or 1/30th and see what happens. I think these features and settings help you concentrate on the more important things until you're ready to control more things at once.

8/24/2008 10:33:10 PM