• There has been a recent cluster of spammers accessing BARFer accounts and posting spam. To safeguard your account, please consider changing your password. It would be even better to take the additional step of enabling 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) on your BARF account. Read more here.

Digital SLR / DSLR Camera Question / DSLR Thread 2

d3000 just discontinued by the noticeably better d3100. i think its around 650-700 new with kit lens.

canons t2i, their new entry level, is in the 800's with kit lens. t1i is also good and should be closer to your price range.

buying used is also a good idea. maybe look for a used nikon d90 or canon 40d or 50d. these are a little bit better cameras that will have more room to grow into
 
Making my wish list for Christmas

I still only have a 50mm.

Just trying to decide on whether to get a Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L or Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS. Any of you have experience with both these lenses? Can you provide pros and cons?

I like the 2.8 on the 24-70, but like the range and IS on the 24-105.

What are you thoughts on a Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L II.

Body is a 5D Mark II.
 
i think you already figured out the pros and cons between those 2 midrange zooms ;P. if you generally shoot outdoors or well lit areas, you probably wont need the 2.8, and the extra reach is nice.
 
I did a little homework and I'll get the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L. The thing is, they don't sell this aafes site. B&H, here I come.

BrassPremier said:
i think you already figured out the pros and cons between those 2 midrange zooms ;P. if you generally shoot outdoors or well lit areas, you probably wont need the 2.8, and the extra reach is nice.
Click to expand...
 
shoei_r1 said:
I did a little homework and I'll get the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L. The thing is, they don't sell this aafes site. B&H, here I come.
Click to expand...

Just saw your earlier post, glad you made that choice :thumbup I don't yet HAVE either, but I have USED both (thanks Alex, Scott).

I've used the longer zoom, and was NOT impressed at all with barrel distortion when wide open - it's way, way worse than my $200 28-105 cheapie lens!

While the 24-70 is a lot more cash and no image-stabilization, it's way clearer, almost nil CA, nil barrel distortion and the bokeh is simply gorgeous, plus it's a 2.8 thru the range so you have a very useful portrait lens at one end, and good-enough for landscapes and architectural stuff at the other.

I just couldn't have lived with the CA and distortion of the longer lens, and F4 is 'meh' for portrait use zoomed in.

You can legitimately argue that the longer lens is a better walkaround, and the IS makes up for the relatively high F-stop purely in terms of shutter-speeds, but I like having the headroom to play with depth of field more than that. Regardless, image quality>everything else at the end of the day. On paper, the longer zoom is better, but not the reality...

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it when it arrives :teeth
 
Last edited:
Hey guys,

Do you have recommendations for a local source for 3rd party Canon batteries? I can't find my battery pack and have a shoot this Saturday and can't wait for a Saturday AM delivery. I guess if I have to I can buy Canon batteries but figured I ask the BARF folks first. :cool
 
Rambeezi said:
Hey guys,

Do you have recommendations for a local source for 3rd party Canon batteries? I can't find my battery pack and have a shoot this Saturday and can't wait for a Saturday AM delivery. I guess if I have to I can buy Canon batteries but figured I ask the BARF folks first. :cool
Click to expand...

What camera? I've heard horror-stories about aftermarket batteries for the 5D Mk II... I have a few aftermarket batteries for my old Rebel that were OKish, but seriously only about 1/4 the life of the stock battery, but at $6 each from eBay I could live with that.

I have a shoot Saturday too, otherwise I'd say you could borrow mine.
 
5D Mk II. I already own a set of 3 qty. Flashpoint LE-E6 batteries (from Adorama) but misplaced them somewhere. :p Getting old brah... But I've actually had good luck with these. It doesn't hold up as good as the Canon but I'm not seeing 1/4 life...perhaps 2/3 for me. I got them at Adorama for $30 ea. back then but they are now $37. Oh well...I'm just gonna go get the Canons. Thank you for the offer JB4000!!!
 
Went to Fry's (Brokaw) today and found a Bowers brand LP-E6 battery for $29.99. Gonna charge it up and take it for a test tonight....never heard or used Bowers before so I'll let ya'll know how it goes. :cool
 
BrassPremier said:
How many shots you get with one canon battery in 5d mark 2?
Click to expand...

With review on, and using a lens with IS, I've been down to 30% after 800 shots.

Without IS, it's down to around 50% with that many shots. Never had a shoot last beyond that yet.
 
You know what really sucks about the 430EX?

When you go to pick it up to use it, realize the batteries are dead, then wonder WTF that funny bulge is in the battery case.

And then find out that the plastic wrap on the rechargeables you use has been scraped, so the batteries short against the serial plate built into the battery cover, melting it thoroughly so that it's ruined and you have to take a screwdriver to your brand-new flash.

What do you think the chances are of getting a warranty repair on the battery door? *sigh*
 
after some more research, i think i'll go for the 430EX (i'll def keep an eye out for Joebar's shorting issue) because i found that most aftermarket flashes would not support the features i would want for it as an on camera flash (2nd curtain, HSS, etc), and i've invested enough, i will stick with canon, so i need something that will be compatible with future bodies as well.

for off camera stuff im thinking of a sunpak PZ42, and alienbeez wireless setup :teeth

BTW, have not been able to post up pics cuz its been super busy, and my home computer decided to crap out on me, and its taking ages to figure out the proper drivers and such on a 5year old laptop!
 
Don't get me wrong, I fucking LOVE the flash. I was (I'll admit it, I'm a big enough man) near tears when I realised I couldn't use it for at least a few weeks - speaking of which, I HAVE to get it in the mail tonight if I'm to have any chance of getting it back before the holidays *sigh*

The issue was/is shitty rechargeables with a shitty, metallized wrapper, printed on top. The print wore off, and while the glue was probably doing a great job insulating the wrapper from the case initially, the wrapper got scraped after numerous insertions/removals from the charger, allowing the metallic wrapper to fully contact the case of the battery. And on the 430EX, all 4 batteries are kinda smushed together. Just means I'll have to find a different type of rechargeable, and probably remove the batteries from the flash when not in use - just in case.
 
Saturday was my first "paid" photo assignment. A high school friend of mine was creating a new brochure for his family restaurant Hana Japan. I've been to the restaurant before, but it was a few years back at a different location. He wanted to portray an interactive and action packed dining experience.

My history: I've done some amateur landscape and limited track day and race photography. Other than that, my skills are very limited.

Equipment: Nikon D5000 with 18-55 kit lens, 35mm 1.8, and a tripod.

Challenge: Horrible lighting! There was limited lighting inside the room, and it was foggy and overcast outside. The only way we could block out the outside ambient light was with some blinds that did not totally block out the light.

Process: My friend put a "help wanted" on his facebook, and I was the one that responded. We called each other a few days before to discuss the game plan for Saturday; the day of the shoot.

We were supposed to meet morning in Berkeley at 10am. I'm normally a morning person but I haven't been getting much sleep...and I ended up oversleeping and being 15 minutes late. They pretty much used that time to set up the room for the shoot, and when I arrived, we talked about what type of scenarios he wanted to shoot.

The first was a bar shot. They serve wine and beer, but they really wanted to show off their hard alcohol. We removed and reorganized some glasses that were in the shot trying different angles. We decided that a side angle shot worked best with the lighting.



He wanted an action shot next; dealing with fire if at all possible. The problems we faced were getting the right angle, and getting enough movement in the photo but keeping it clear enough that it would be usable in the brochure. We struggled to find the perfect photo, but we got some interesting ones.











 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top