The Canon Thread - Page 146

wonder if the 40mm stm pancake is as sharp as the Tamron 17-50mm 2.8  (at 40mm). 

 

I feel that 40mm is a little too narrow to keep on my camera 90% of the time...especially if it's 2.8.  I think I'd rather leave a 30mm 1.4 on my camera 90% of the time..    I really love the form factor, though...and at $200 it's really tempting.........  To get the same field of view as the 40mm, how much farther back do you have to stand with the 50mm?  I guess I could test this on my 17-50...haha

 

I'm guessing there'll be more offerings in the pancake form in the future--hopefully wider and faster

I wouldn't necessarily count on that.  Fast lenses require a lot of glass to gather light.  40mm Pancake Lenses have been around for along time and, from my knowledge, there haven't ever been very many pancake lenses wider than that for SLR cameras.

 

You might see something from Canon for their new mirrorless camera, but I don't know what is ever possible with the EF mount.

ah, thank you.  this bit of info makes me want to get the pancake more now..    do you have any experience with micro 4/3 pancake lenses?  they seem to go down to f/1.8 i believe..

Looks like the Canon mirrorless announcement is coming very soon... pics of a new body with 22mm f/2 lens are starting to circulate among rumor sites currently. It's going to be an interesting week, next week.

No, no m4/3 experience. Some 4/3 experience, though.

Smaller sensor size and shorter flange to sensor distance make "faster" lenses easier to build. Don't expect the same results for a shallow depth of field, though.

 

Which is the better crop? 

Edited by hyogen - 8/4/12 at 7:31pm

 

i've been taking photography a little more seriously lately--trying to put a little more thought and effort into each shot.  I've decided to hold off on upgrading bodies for now--I'll make do with my T1i until the 7D goes down in price or a used 5DmkII goes down. 

 

Meanwhile I've been organizing my lenses and understanding my want/needs better.

 

- will buy a Sigma 30mm 1.4 and be done for a while.  This will probably stay on my camera 70% of the time. 

 

- bought a Tamron 10-24mm UWA - In the future I may switch to the Sigma 8-16mm if it's usable on a full-frame.  between this and the fisheye makes up maybe 5-10% of my shots.

 

- just bought a Sigma 70-300mm apochromatic macro lens - very good buy I think for $110.  I will need a tripod for it--I'll upgrade to an IS lens after I upgrade bodies or possibly get a Canon 70-200 F4L for about $500 used.  This long zoom lens will be used maybe 5% of the time, but I still feel it's worth having for the occasional sporting event, graduation, etc..

 

- keeping 17-50mm 2.8  Will be used maybe 20% of the time.

 

- selling my 18-200mm lens..  just don't need a mediocre convenient lens.

 

- possibly keeping my 8mm fisheye just for fun.  I also calibrated it to where I'm getting tack sharp pics now (apparently most of these Samyang/Rokinon fisheyes need calibration). I also realized you can almost use the fisheye lens with very little apparent distortion if you level the camera and set your horizon close to the middle

Edited by hyogen - 8/5/12 at 4:13am

I prefer the vertical composition. The horizontal one has too much empty space on the left, and the bird is flying away from it.

 

That Sigma 70-300 is good buy for it's price. And don't worry about the lack of IS either, there are plenty of ways to help stabilize in the absence of a tripod. Bean bags, leaning on a wall for support, or just raising the ISO (in good light) works. Plus, if you're using it for shooting sports and action, IS is not going to be a significant factor anyway since you typically need high shutter speeds to counter subject movement.

 

I agree totally with the above.  However, having horizontal "action" in a portrait composition is a bit weird to me.  If the bird were in the left 1/3 in the horizontal shot, that would be my preference.  

 

I would also be tempted to pull the file into Photoshop and get rid of the lens flare (and the last photo with the people as well).  It's a bit distracting.  Shooting into the sun is tricky.  If you use one, pull off the filter as it could very well increase the flare and use a lens hood if you have one.  Even with these precautions, you can still end up with flare; it's a bit of a crap shot.

Edited by leftnose - 8/6/12 at 10:28am

 

good point.  thank you both :) 

 

so when do you find it "appropriate" to not follow the rule of 3rds?  Just every so often?

 

for now I have placed kinda opaque tape on my built-in flash...and have turned down the intensity.  A poor man's diffuser :)  I think I might end up going with the $70 or so Yongnuo flash on ebay that was recommended to me on this thread.  I'm guessing I'll quickly outgrow the ex270 smallest/cheapest Canon flash to justify paying $150 or so for it. 

Edited by hyogen - 8/8/12 at 2:07am

 

The "rule of 3rds" isn't a "rule" it's a guideline.  A photograph can look boring with its subject centered.  But, on the other hand, if all your photographs follow the "rule of 3rds," they'll start to look boring as well.  To be honest with you, I've had a lot of very formal photo training and I don't think I can recall a single time the "rule of 3rds" was mentioned any time after the first two weeks of Photo 1.  Don't preoccupy yourself with it.

 

When the "rule of 3rds" is most beneficial is when you want to balance your composition.  If you have competing elements, following the "rule" is good because it give balance:

 

 

hope you don't mind that I did this; it was convenient to be able to illustrate my point.  it's a bit quick and dirty as well.

 

BTW, you were absolutely right not to put the sun directly in the corner.  More important than the "rule of 3rds" is a rule not to ever have a line running through the corner of the photo or anything of importance right in the corner.  It makes the photo look carelessly composed: like something got cut off.

 

I don't aim this comment directly at you but I think DSLRs make it harder to learn photography than in the past.  I think people get caught up with all the whiz-bang features of the latest and greatest cameras and never learn the basics.  If I were an intro to photo teacher today, I'd insist that my students stick the camera in aperture priority mode and worry about only three rules: generally shoot with the sun to your back, hold the camera still, and put some thought into each shot.  If you think just a bit about each photo, eventually you will learn what works best for you, what kinds of results you like and how to get them.  Don't worry about the gear, don't worry about arbitrary rules; learn the most fundamental technical basics and the rest will come.

Edited by leftnose - 8/8/12 at 1:01pm

much appreciated leftnose! 

My first camera thats not also a phone. Canon T3i kit, and picked up an extra lens: f1.8 50mm.

 

 

This is of my dog after a surgery on his eye lid and the healing process. Just using non-flash mode with the f1.8.

 

Day1:

 

 

after 1week:

 

after 2weeks and still a little wet from a bath:

 

Edited by Philimon - 8/21/12 at 6:23pm

Very nice!  One small tip: when using a large aperture, focus on the nearest eye.  Having the eye(s) in focus will look more natural than having the nose sharp.

I will try that.