The Photography Thread 2

[EvilBoris]

so I went for some quality lensage in the end, grabbed a Canon 24-105mm L series lens.

[MartyG]

Good choice, you can't go far wrong with L glass. I think the 24-70mm is a better lens, but it's probably worth the sacrifice for the more useful focal range. Wouldn't mind one of those myself.

[Anpanman]

You can go DSLR for just ?70 now - well if you're prepared to use a Nikon D50 (my first DSLR which I gave to my bother). They're still perfectly serviceable; I still use a D70 and Fuji S2 Pro on occasion and my Fuji S3 Pro permanently has my Sigma 105mm macro lens attached to it.

I use an S2 Pro, great colours from the Fuji's, had it for ten years.

so I went for some quality lensage in the end, grabbed a Canon 24-105mm L series lens.

Good lad, can't beat real quality lenses. Only problem is it's like a drug and you have to get more and more...

[EvilBoris]

Canon 6D first impressions review

So it arrived today and I went out for a walk into town to give it a go and try and get to grips with it.

There are considerably more buttons than my 550D had, but that's a good thing, the important things have their own dedicated button or dial so I don't need to waste precious battery looking at the screen.
It's noticeably heavier than my old one too, which will take some getting used too, but the whole camera is noticeably more solid too. THe hand grip is larger so it's actually a little more comfortable to hold if you discount the weight.

One of the main reasons I wanted to upgrade was because of the built in GPS, I always log the GPS data of where I travel when I'm taking photos using various apps and pieces of software, but I always had to jump through quite a few hoops or be stuck with no battery on my phone at the end of a day, which wasn't ideal.
I tried this out too today and the results were very pleasent, you can either set the camera to purely log the data to the image file, but you can also have it create a track log too. Handy.

This is a view of the images map along with the optional tracklog in Lightroom.

map by EvilBoris, on Flickr


One really cool gadgety thing I wasn't expecting to ever use was the wifi.
You can log onto a local wifi network and share with a local DLNA device or do remote shooting via the EOS utility on window/mac.

Rather fantastically you can actually connect straight to the camera via wifi through the iphone IOS app and realtime view the liveview images, change settings , focus and of course SHOOT.
You can also use the app to view the images on the camera and copy them to your library for instant email/messaging/isntagramming.

Untitled by EvilBoris, on Flickr


Untitled by EvilBoris, on Flickr


From what I could see actually taking photos, I was getting far less highlight clipping than I normally would, the dynamic range that a full frame sensor offers was quite noticeable there.

Of course another big benefit to going full frame is the low light performance, I was totally blown away by how easily I was getting sharp crisp images with far less noise than I was used to when I was chasing the cat around this morning in our dark bedroom.

After the Sun had set I took a few handheld shots in the almost dark and I was blown away by just easy it was to achieve something I had always struggled with.


IMG_0542.jpg by EvilBoris, on Flickr


IMG_0546.jpg by EvilBoris, on Flickr







The new fancier lens and the extra clarity that provides and the fact that the larger sensor isn't actually cropped means that I can get away without the big zoom lens I was using before.


IMG_0516.jpg by EvilBoris, on Flickr


IMG_0519.jpg by EvilBoris, on Flickr


IMG_0516-2.jpg by EvilBoris, on Flickr




IMG_0537.jpg by EvilBoris, on Flickr


IMG_0520.jpg by EvilBoris, on Flickr


IMG_0452.jpg by EvilBoris, on Flickr

Good first impression, I was worried I was going to be disappointed or regret having spent the big bucks on this!

[Yakumo]

I didn't know you lived in Liverpool. That's where I'm originally from.

Fantastic pictures by the way. My new camera should arrive today. I'm on a budget so I went for the Panasonic GH2. That way I could use my micro four third lens.

[Yakumo]

My new camera arrived today, a Panasonic Lumix GH2. A massive step up from my GF2. 18mpixel sensor too although only 16 mega pixels are actually used due to t he sensor size.





I'm also pleasantly surprised with the quality of the live viewfinder.

[Brad]

I used to have a G2. Same viewfinder I think and yes, surprisingly good and 100% FOV which on a traditional SLR you'd only get on top end models. I'd love a GH2. Am thinking of getting one (or more likely a GH1) to go with my GF3.

[Yakumo]

Indeed, the 100% FOV is what surprised me. I'm liking the camera very much. Just updated the firmware and added English menus to it (Panasonic remove all language settings from Japanese models) and upped the audio and video encoding specs.

How much would a used GH1 or GH2 cost you in the UK? Over here the GH1 is around 210 pounds while the GH2 is about 335 pounds. The best thing about buying used in Japan is that the item is still boxed 100% factory fresh most of the time. I bought mine used since a new GH2 still cost a whopping 765 pounds although that may come with a lens. Mine didn't but that's OK since I'd only recently bought a LUMIX G VARIO HD 14-140mm F4.0-5.8 ASPH. MEGA O.I.S. lens. Used of course but even then it was still expensive at about 300 pounds. Man, photography is an expensive hobby.

[Brad]

Yea GH2s are mega expensive here still (>?800 for the body), as is the 14-140mm (?480 new). I really only need the GH2 capabilities (true 60fps @ 720p) once a year when I snowboard. 99% of the time a G3 would be a much better bet. I wants one though (my preciousssss!)

[Yakumo]

I could pick you one up from over here if you really want one. The battery charger is 100 to 240 volt compatable so you'll only need a cheap plug adaptor for it and you can hack the firmware to add English menus to it. Even with shipping you'd be making quite a big saving over UK prices if you went the used rout like me.

I bought mine from yahoo Auctions. Just type GH2 or DCM GH2 in to the search bar to get results.

[fishbowlhead]

Nice impressions Boris, what a lovely piece of kit. Were those night shots taken on a tripod or by hand?

[Brad]

I could pick you one up from over here if you really want one. The battery charger is 100 to 240 volt compatable so you'll only need a cheap plug adaptor for it and you can hack the firmware to add English menus to it. Even with shipping you'd be making quite a big saving over UK prices if you went the used rout like me.

I bought mine from yahoo Auctions. Just type GH2 or DCM GH2 in to the search bar to get results.

Many thanks for the kind offer. I may have found one with the 14-42mm (which i don't need so could offload for ?50 I guess) for ?500 new. Am checking stock.

[Yakumo]

That's a pretty good deal. Make sure to post picks if you manage to get one.

[Brad]

Re: The Photography Thread 2

No stock. Discontinued. Currys have a display kit for 479GBP but it will jave been on display a while. Hmmmm

[Yakumo]

Hmm, indeed. If the Currys one turn sout to be a poor buy and you can't get one over your side just pop on to Yahoo Auctions and have a look. I can sort you out with one but will need the payment upfront so I can pay the seller.