[dante]

so thanks to advice of many of the s here I picked up a new Canon XTi with a 50mm 1.8 as a christmas present to myself, and have been having a blast with it. with the 1.6x crop the 50mm is too close for a lot of the action shots, but other than that I've been extremely happy with the setup. pics are below.

(now just on the lookout for that elusive wide-angle, USM, wide aperture lens that isn't too expensive. )

obligatory non-riding pic

 

[Quo Fan]

Nice shots. I should get a "real" digital SLR. All I have is a point and shoot. I have a film SLR, but since nobody shoots film anymore...

 

[dante]

I *had* a film SLR back in HS and loved it, but was leery about shooting rolls and rolls of film just to figure things out. now almost 15 years later (and several digi P&S cameras) I've learned more in 1 week of playing with the DSLR than I ever did with the film version. not only can you see the image immediately afterwards, but you can also see the histogram to see whether it's too light/dark, take multiple pictures of the same subject to determine which are the best settings, and digitally fix pictures that you screw up when actually taking the photograph. I took probably 30 pictures when I first got it with the wrong WB setting (took pics outside but still set to indoor lighting so everything came out blue), and with 1 click of the mouse everything was fixed on my computer. I would've been PISSED if I'd just shot a roll of film (at ~$10 for film and processing) and had to throw away all of the pictures...

thanks for the compliment on the pics!

 

[Ocron]

Nice pics. I want to get some riding pictures with my 30D, but I'm nervous about bringing it on a ride.

(now just on the lookout for that elusive wide-angle, USM, wide aperture lens that isn't too expensive. )

Let me know when you find it, I'll take one too. I tried shooting indoor soccer Sat morn w/the 50mm 1.8 and the results were less than optimal. Trying to get that lens to focus where I wanted while following the action was a real challenge.

 

[Graphics]

Nice pics. I want to get some riding pictures with my 30D, but I'm nervous about bringing it on a ride.



Let me know when you find it, I'll take one too. I tried shooting indoor soccer Sat morn w/the 50mm 1.8 and the results were less than optimal. Trying to get that lens to focus where I wanted while following the action was a real challenge.

why would you be nervous? I can't wait till the weather changes and i can get some new riding shots. i'm just hoping i will still own the D200 when it does.

 

[Graphics]

nice shots Dante...have you tried any bike shots on the continuous setting?

 

[Mr Tiles]

riding:

un-riding aka baby pix:

 

[Graphics]

WOW...Mr Tiles those are some wicked shots. the first bike shot...although the face is a bit washed out...the shot is amazing. i love the angle and composition...makes it look like he's jumping over that tree.

And the baby shots are gorgeous...have you ever tried "spot colorizing" a black and white? With baby images it's really nice. I did one with my son...6 years ago...i'll see if i can find it.

 

[Ocron]

why would you be nervous? I can't wait till the weather changes and i can get some new riding shots. i'm just hoping i will still own the D200 when it does.

If I were walking I wouldn't be. I've got a decent padded backpack style case for it but I don't know how much shaking the camera can deal with. Maybe I'm being overly cautious?

 

[Mr Tiles]

WOW...Mr Tiles those are some wicked shots. the first bike shot...although the face is a bit washed out...the shot is amazing.

Yeah, I kicked myself when I got home that day and pulled that pic off my camera. I liked the angle but I didn't really execute the shot that well. I was screwing around with manual focus b/c that lens wasn't acting right that day.

And the baby shots are gorgeous...have you ever tried "spot colorizing" a black and white? With baby images it's really nice. I did one with my son...6 years ago...i'll see if i can find it.

I'm not one to mess with post processing stuff. I'm learning though. Starting to shoot a lot more in raw to play with color temps and such. Also doing a lot more with custom WB...all fun stuff, just wish I had time to mess with it more. I'll be shooting a lot more action soon as I just sold my 50 f/1.4 canon to purchase a sigma 10-20...

 

[Transcend]

Tiles - you need to up your shutter speed or pan. The lighting is a bit harsh, but the rider is out of focus in all 3 shots. I don't usually shoot bikes under 1/350th or 1/80th pan. Above 1/350th you will lose tire spin and it will look like he is standing still.

Also - you HAVE to process most shots that come out of a DSLR. It is the nature of the beast. Canon makes it particularly important as the anti aliasing filter over the sensor is heavy. Even jpeg shots will appear soft unless you crank up the in camera processing. RAW shots will be extremely soft.

edit: it appears you were over 1/350th as their is no tire spin. I just read you were in MF mode - that explains that. Stick it in servo and let it deal with it on it's own. Nto sure what camera you have, but you can also get the focus off the shutter button on some, and let shutter lock exposure, and the * button control focus.

 

[Mr Tiles]

like I said, I'm learning. I know post processing is required. I really just got into shooting in 06. I'm still learning how everything works together, i.e. relationships b/w remote flash and sync speeds, shutter speeds, dof, f stops, etc.

I do know that the max shutter speed sync with my remote flash is 1/250. Any advise on this?

 

[Mr Tiles]

It's a 30d

 

[Toshi]

dante, you don't really need fast apertures for wide angle lenses: the shutter speed requirements are lower, and you're never going to get crazy-low depth of field in any case. oh yeah, and most every wide angle won't be sharp anyway until you stop it down.

personally i'm happy with my canon 28/1.8 and sigma 12-24 setup.

 

[Transcend]

dante, you don't really need fast apertures for wide angle lenses: the shutter speed requirements are lower, and you're never going to get crazy-low depth of field in any case. oh yeah, and most every wide angle won't be sharp anyway until you stop it down.

personally i'm happy with my canon 28/1.8 and sigma 12-24 setup.

Agreed, this is why i went 17-40 instead of 16-35. I usually use it at 5.6 or higher.

 

[Transcend]

like I said, I'm learning. I know post processing is required. I really just got into shooting in 06. I'm still learning how everything works together, i.e. relationships b/w remote flash and sync speeds, shutter speeds, dof, f stops, etc.

I do know that the max shutter speed sync with my remote flash is 1/250. Any advise on this?

Same as on my 1dmk2 pretty much. I can squeak 1/325 out of it without any visible drag.

Basically when shooting with flash that way, i usually pan and underexpose the ambient light to help freeze the rider in the shot. Big disadvantage is that tires stop spinning. Look below to see the differences.

3 flashes on remotes, 1/60th panned at about 20mm. (17-40 f4 @ f6.something)

and this is 2 remotes, in deep woods and underexposed at about 1/300th at 180mm or so.(70-200 2.8 @ f4)

 

[dante]

dante, you don't really need fast apertures...

and

personally i'm happy with my canon 28/1.8 and sigma 12-24 setup.

i thought 1.8 *was* fast...

my main concern with needing fast aperture is that in the summer, in new england singletrack there's going to be a lot of tree/leaf cover. is a 3.5 or a 4 on the wide end going to be fast enough, or should I start looking at something like the 20mm 2.8? it's almost like I'm currently struggling for light, and it's middle of January with decent sun/blue sky. flash isn't quite an option as my flash sync tops at 1/200.

thoughts?

 

[Transcend]

Learn to pan with that flash.

Also, you don't generally need wide apertures on wideangles. a 28mm is not really wideangle on most digital cameras (they crop at 1.6). That lens will behave more like a 44mm, which is just about normal.

 

[Toshi]

and



i thought 1.8 *was* fast...

my main concern with needing fast aperture is that in the summer, in new england singletrack there's going to be a lot of tree/leaf cover. is a 3.5 or a 4 on the wide end going to be fast enough, or should I start looking at something like the 20mm 2.8? it's almost like I'm currently struggling for light, and it's middle of January with decent sun/blue sky. flash isn't quite an option as my flash sync tops at 1/200.

thoughts?

1/200 ==> pan

and 28mm x 1.6 is hardly wide!

edit: i see that my post mirrors transcend's. i'll post it anyway just in case some of y'all have him on ignore

 

[Ocron]

Transcend, that 2nd picture is amazing.

I've got a riding picture question for you guys. When do you want IS on? One of my lenses has 2 modes; 1- all directions, and 2-only in the direction of the camera, the other is on or off. I'm guessing that it should be "off" or set to "2" if you're going to follow the subject in continuous mode or if you're panning. Or is it the case that if I'm at 1/320 or above IS won't have any effect unless I just drank a quad espresso??

 

[Mr Tiles]

more...

buddy of mine snap this with my camera

 

[splat]

Nice pics. I want to get some riding pictures with my 30D, but I'm nervous about bringing it on a ride.

I know what you mean Sean, My wife won't let me take the Good camera out on the trails when I'm riding. of course there have been a couple of exceptions ( ex. Riding with Dave Watson)

especially after the 2 point and shoots I have managed to smash up while riding.