What Digital Camera do you have . . . Share your baby with me please !!!

Joined
Nov 9, 2013
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Points
1
I had started to travel more and wanted a DSLR. I originally bought a second hand Canon 1D mk 2 which isn't a full sensor but close. It didn't come with a lense so I kept checking out the camera store and picked up a used F2.8 100 mm macro and then a L series 16-40 2.8 zoom. I waited for a while, bit the bullet and picked up a L series F1.4 35mm prime.
As much as I liked the sturdy build of the 1D it really is built for sports photography so just before the last trip I bought a 6d with a 25-100 mm f4 lense.
So now I have this hodge podge of lenses. The 35mm is an incredible lense. The 100 macro is a great portrait lense but seams to fall off shooting at over 15 feet.
I still need to spend time reading the instructions on the 6d but it is way to much fun to use.
 
OP
TattooedMac
Joined
May 19, 2009
Messages
8,428
Reaction score
295
Points
83
Location
Waiting for a mate . . .
Your Mac's Specs
21" iMac 2.9Ghz 16GB RAM - 10.11.3, iPhone6s & iPad Air 2 - iOS 9.2.1, ATV 4Th Gen tvOS, ATV3
mdgI9ry.jpg

Thats a pretty powerful image you have there Derek. Thanks for sharing :)
 
Joined
Feb 27, 2011
Messages
186
Reaction score
9
Points
18
Your Mac's Specs
'11 15.4, 2.2, 8gb MBP - '11 15.4, 2.0, 8gb MBP, 2x4gb Gen1 Nano, 8gb Gen3 Nano,
I got into digital photography way back in the early 90s with a
$10,000 Kodak DCS-200...an 1.4 mp b/w camera.

its been a long journey since then and I settled on Canon a long time ago with first 1Ds, a groundbreaking camera. I've had many but my current Canon lineup includes 2-t3i, 1-t4i, and original 5d, a 5dII and a 1DsIII. I've resisted the 5dII and 1dx since they don't add much to my business needs.

For fun I shoot an Oly OM-D whihc is a really sweet camera.

Actually I would recommend the mirrorless cameras to anyone buying now. I prefer the micro 4/3 offerings by Olympus or Panasonic. Sweet bodies, great and affordable lens selection and the files are very good indeed. And the added plus is small size and weight. I never take anything else when I'm shooting for fun. BTW both Oly and Panny have new bodies that are superb. My OM-D is lasts years news :)
 
Joined
Nov 26, 2012
Messages
1,035
Reaction score
22
Points
38
Location
Agusan del Norte, Philippines
Your Mac's Specs
L2012 Mini, i7 2.6Ghz, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD(fusion), BenQ 32" 2.5k QHD Display
I got myself a bloody good filter the other day, to fit the 55-200mm 52 and its a ND Filter with 8steps, ND1-8 all in one and i think its brilliant, and saves having to change them trying to get the correct ND, all i have to do , is turn the dial and i go up or down a ND filter :) BONUS lol

PS : On that magical Star button on the Canons, i don't think there is one on the Nikons, or i haven't found it yet. But i have been trying Micks way of doing a Full Auto and then changing the settings Manually for myself and I'm learning to Assign all the buttons to do certain things, and i have learnt how to quickly UP the ISO if it looks under exposed and things like that. The more i use it, the better i WILL get.

I do have a Bracketing Button which i do want to learn how to use and get the best out of it. Buttons, buttons, everywhere . . . .

Speaking of ND-X filter. I picked a Meco brand 77mm one up in Hong Kong the other day when I got my wide angle lens. Mine can go from something like ND2 to complete black. Paid out the arsh for that thing.. LOL.. But I got it since i got a good deal on the Lens.. Got my Canon EF 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 Ultra Wide Angle lens. This pretty much completes my toolset as far as main tools. Got a new tripod and few other things ordered but having them sent to my Moms in the USA. Have her send it all sea cargo to me.


Let's see, gonna try this from memory:

2x Canon 550D/Rebel T2i w/Grips (Because there's not really been a sensor upgrade in forever and I'm in no rush to upgrade to FF and have to replace my 17-55.)

2x Canon Speedlite 430 EXII

Canon 50mm 1.2L (Perfect for portraits on a crop body)
Canon 17-55mm 2.8

And that's pretty much it. Got some old Chinon screw-mount lenses I like to use for video (135mm 2.8, 55mm 1.7, 35mm 2.0) and portraiture, but for the most part I stick with the Canon lenses. That setup has been enough to get me through quite a few jobs, and really I don't feel the need to upgrade any time soon. Since all I really do is portraiture, I don't really need the professional features higher end bodies offer. Gotten some pretty good results with my setup. This is one of my Grandpa at his 100th birthday, probably the best picture I have of him.

Got a question about the battery grip. I bought one the other day also.. Basicly for the grip on the side and extra battery life. The sales guy kept saying it would make my photo speeds faster? Is this true or just mumbo jumbo..

Yea I am using the T3i until I make enough from my photography to buy a better camera, but the new 70D is the first AP-C sized sensor cam to be a real update. The T5i is a waste IMHO. Actually the 70D less the weather sealing should have been the T5i... 7D perhaps, but not really. 5D Mark III is way nice. But rather stick with the smaller sensor for Zoom reasons.
 
Joined
Nov 26, 2012
Messages
1,035
Reaction score
22
Points
38
Location
Agusan del Norte, Philippines
Your Mac's Specs
L2012 Mini, i7 2.6Ghz, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD(fusion), BenQ 32" 2.5k QHD Display
Here we go. Took these on my iPod so pleas excuse the poor quality.. LOL
On the cam and the batter grip you can see the * star. It a meter to give you a bad idea of what the camera thinks your setting should be.. LOL..

Enjoy the pics..

JoeJacksonPhotography-JoeJackson - 20131113 - 1-1.jpg

JoeJacksonPhotography-JoeJackson - 20131113 - 8-2.jpg
 
Joined
Nov 1, 2007
Messages
1,246
Reaction score
80
Points
48
Location
Swansea - South Wales
Your Mac's Specs
21 M1 Pro 14" MBP, 23 M2 Pro Mac Mini (MacOS 14), iPhone 15 Pro Max (iOS 17), iPad 6 (iPadOS 17)
A bit OT but just today I bought a Tamron 24-70 f2.8 lens. I'll have a go later and post some pics up.
 
Joined
Nov 26, 2012
Messages
1,035
Reaction score
22
Points
38
Location
Agusan del Norte, Philippines
Your Mac's Specs
L2012 Mini, i7 2.6Ghz, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD(fusion), BenQ 32" 2.5k QHD Display
A bit OT but just today I bought a Tamron 24-70 f2.8 lens. I'll have a go later and post some pics up.

The Tamron 24-70mm and 70-300mm are supposed to be a great pair to have. Interested on seeing how they perform. My Canon EF 28-135mm USM lens was purchased by my wife before I stepped into photography. Pic quality is good, build quality is shameful. My 75-300mm is a older lens that doesn't even have Image Stabilizing at its build quality is twice as good. So eventually I am looking to replace that lens with something of better quality. Canons L lens are superb build quality and have weather sealing. But not sure they are worth an extra thousand bucks per lens.
 
Joined
Feb 4, 2008
Messages
1,602
Reaction score
71
Points
48
Location
Detroit, Michigan
Your Mac's Specs
MacBook Pro M1 Pro - 16 GB RAM - 512 GB SSD - macOS Monterey
Got a question about the battery grip. I bought one the other day also.. Basicly for the grip on the side and extra battery life. The sales guy kept saying it would make my photo speeds faster? Is this true or just mumbo jumbo..

Yea I am using the T3i until I make enough from my photography to buy a better camera, but the new 70D is the first AP-C sized sensor cam to be a real update. The T5i is a waste IMHO. Actually the 70D less the weather sealing should have been the T5i... 7D perhaps, but not really. 5D Mark III is way nice. But rather stick with the smaller sensor for Zoom reasons.

I haven't noticed a difference in speeds. A faster card is gonna help that more than anything. I've got a pretty fast SanDisk card I use most of the time, and my buffer doesn't dip below 6 in RAW unless I'm shooting a hockey game.
 
Joined
Nov 26, 2012
Messages
1,035
Reaction score
22
Points
38
Location
Agusan del Norte, Philippines
Your Mac's Specs
L2012 Mini, i7 2.6Ghz, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD(fusion), BenQ 32" 2.5k QHD Display
I haven't noticed a difference in speeds. A faster card is gonna help that more than anything. I've got a pretty fast SanDisk card I use most of the time, and my buffer doesn't dip below 6 in RAW unless I'm shooting a hockey game.

Thanks Derek.

I looked into this rumor this morning. Turns out that its more to do with Nikon then Canon. Canon's will only use one of the two batteries in the battery grip at one time. The catch is with Nikon is that their camera processing is really fast, its just the motors are lacking in speed. That and they will use both batteries to speed up shooting performance by a small amount. But I think you have to do a firmware also. I didn't get into much more detail then its can/could with Nikon but not Canon. Since I am a Canon camera person even back when I only have a point and shoot film camera.
 
OP
TattooedMac
Joined
May 19, 2009
Messages
8,428
Reaction score
295
Points
83
Location
Waiting for a mate . . .
Your Mac's Specs
21" iMac 2.9Ghz 16GB RAM - 10.11.3, iPhone6s & iPad Air 2 - iOS 9.2.1, ATV 4Th Gen tvOS, ATV3
Here we go. Took these on my iPod so pleas excuse the poor quality.. LOL
On the cam and the batter grip you can see the * star. It a meter to give you a bad idea of what the camera thinks your setting should be.. LOL..

Enjoy the pics..

Quite a collection there, and no, i don't have a special little Star button on the Nikon :( Looks like i will have to learn the hard way Woohoo !!!!

@infocusinc If you came from the other thread, as i was saying, i have the Eye-Fi Pro X2 16GB and that takes in my .jpgs and the other card takes the NEF files.
I found a App called ShutterSnitch, that is compatible with Eye-Fi, Transcend Wi-Fi, Toshiba FlashAir, and PQI Air cards.
Canon WFT transmitters and EOS 6D / 70D.
Nikon WT and WU transmitters.
Panasonic cameras that work with their LUMIX LINK app.
GoPro HERO3 and because the Eye-Fi makes its own WiFi Network, it transfers the .jpegs into a Collection within second, and from there i can look at the image on a 7.9" screen instead of a 3" Screen and make the appropriate corrections there and then.
I love how ShutterSnitch has so many options, to Upload straight to SmugMug, Dropbox are just a few. You can even use Bonjour to send from iPad Mini to iPhone running the same App.
Then when i get home, the Mac App for it, see's that we are home and Automatically grabs them from the iPad Mini, and is essentially a Backup, and from there with a Applescript or Automator Workflow you can then grab them from there and upload them to Aperture or LR or whatever. . . . Im not a Pro, but thats how my workflow works anyway.

ShutterSnitch is just so much better than the Eye-Fi App, and on sale for $10.49 but usually $20.99, but i had to set my Eyefi card up again to meet the SS requirements, but it works for me.
 
Joined
Apr 24, 2009
Messages
965
Reaction score
128
Points
43
Location
UK
Your Mac's Specs
Various Mac's
Photography has been a hobby since my school days, and I still have a few older camera's such as my Toyo 45a 4x5 with 5 lenses and Mamiya C220 with 3 lenses.

I'm still using my first digital camera, a Sony DSC-R1 from 2005, details here Sony Cyber-shot DSC-R1 Review: Digital Photography Review. It's been an excellent camera for my type of photography if you realise its limitations and work around them. Most of my photo's on Flickr were taken on this camera Flickr: stevebell's Photostream.

I've been considering upgrading for the last few years, not being tied to a previous systems lenses gives me plenty of choice. I'm just ordering a Nikon D7100 body and Nikon DX 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR Zoom. This will give me a similar focal length range I've been used to with the R1, plus uses the same filter sizes, so nothing wasted. Next year I'll probably add the Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED. I don't need fast lenses as I use a tripod for most of my shots.
 
Joined
Nov 26, 2012
Messages
1,035
Reaction score
22
Points
38
Location
Agusan del Norte, Philippines
Your Mac's Specs
L2012 Mini, i7 2.6Ghz, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD(fusion), BenQ 32" 2.5k QHD Display
@TattooedMac, Thank man. They are not L lens, but they are a start.

@techiesteve, the D7100 should be a great cam. From the reviews I have read and watched on YouTube. The Nikon D7100 is a better value and better performer then the newest Canon 70D. But IMHO its very hard to get a true comparison as the lens are not interchangeable. But the 7100 did end up with little sharper pics at higher ISOs. But I doubt most folks would notice anyway.

I only have one fast lens, its the EF 85mm f/1.8. Its my portrait lens. Makes nice background bukeh. Matter of fact I only own one lens with Image Stabilizer and its one I use the least. I got a aluminum tripod now I been using, its ok. Its light, its just the moving parts are crapy plastic and if you tighten or loosen the adjustments, its either to tight or flopping around. I ordered me a new one off amazon. DOLICA brand that is aluminum and has a ball head, but having it sent to my Moms in the US for her to ship out here via sea cargo. So I want know truly if its much better. Hope it is.. Not sure about ball heads.

Talking about WiFi, the 70D has built in WiFi. So I can control the camera via my iPod touch and also upload pics with the iPod or even my iPad. And of course can link it on my home network and upload my pics without having to plug any cables up or take SD cards out.
 
Joined
Feb 27, 2011
Messages
186
Reaction score
9
Points
18
Your Mac's Specs
'11 15.4, 2.2, 8gb MBP - '11 15.4, 2.0, 8gb MBP, 2x4gb Gen1 Nano, 8gb Gen3 Nano,
Quite a collection there, and no, i don't have a special little Star button on the Nikon :( Looks like i will have to learn the hard way Woohoo !!!!

@infocusinc If you came from the other thread, as i was saying, i have the Eye-Fi Pro X2 16GB and that takes in my .jpgs and the other card takes the NEF files.
I found a App called ShutterSnitch, that is compatible with Eye-Fi, Transcend Wi-Fi, Toshiba FlashAir, and PQI Air cards.
Canon WFT transmitters and EOS 6D / 70D.
Nikon WT and WU transmitters.
Panasonic cameras that work with their LUMIX LINK app.
GoPro HERO3 and because the Eye-Fi makes its own WiFi Network, it transfers the .jpegs into a Collection within second, and from there i can look at the image on a 7.9" screen instead of a 3" Screen and make the appropriate corrections there and then.
I love how ShutterSnitch has so many options, to Upload straight to SmugMug, Dropbox are just a few. You can even use Bonjour to send from iPad Mini to iPhone running the same App.
Then when i get home, the Mac App for it, see's that we are home and Automatically grabs them from the iPad Mini, and is essentially a Backup, and from there with a Applescript or Automator Workflow you can then grab them from there and upload them to Aperture or LR or whatever. . . . Im not a Pro, but thats how my workflow works anyway.

ShutterSnitch is just so much better than the Eye-Fi App, and on sale for $10.49 but usually $20.99, but i had to set my Eyefi card up again to meet the SS requirements, but it works for me.

I tried the eyefi some time ago but I shoot raw and it was not really what I needed for my work. I shoot tethered to a computer and i want the client and or just me and my stylist to see images as we shoot so we can make changes etc. I also nee to control the camera remotely since I make many exposures at different setting and lighting setups of the same scene and then assemble them in photoshop. The camera can't move or the shot is spoiled. So I connect the camera to the laptop with a 30' usb cable.

For software I use Phase 1, Capture One Pro. Its the camera control and raw processing application. There are other combinations to choose form but I prefer this solution. They also make a remote connection/viewing app for the ipad and that's what I use. I also take along a Airport Express (i like the older one with the folding plug) to create a really solid wifi connection. Works way better than an adhoc connection.

My needs are really specific and likey won't be useful to most,

But just for the heck of it, here is a gif showing how I build some of my images from "parts and pieces" because it allows me to light far better than I could with a single shot. And you can see why its a huge problem if the camera moves even 1 pixel...
These are the layers from Photoshop converted to a gif so you can see the image build.

http://www.craiglamson.com/rvbuild.gif

just for fun, my still film cameras from when I still shot film....and i really miss it sometimes.

 
Joined
Nov 26, 2012
Messages
1,035
Reaction score
22
Points
38
Location
Agusan del Norte, Philippines
Your Mac's Specs
L2012 Mini, i7 2.6Ghz, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD(fusion), BenQ 32" 2.5k QHD Display
@ Craig, quiet a small investment you got going on there. :)
 
Joined
Feb 27, 2011
Messages
186
Reaction score
9
Points
18
Your Mac's Specs
'11 15.4, 2.2, 8gb MBP - '11 15.4, 2.0, 8gb MBP, 2x4gb Gen1 Nano, 8gb Gen3 Nano,
Joined
Apr 20, 2009
Messages
4,301
Reaction score
124
Points
63
Location
The lonely planet
Your Mac's Specs
Too many...
I'm kind of excited. I got to use a Nikon D3200 over my amazing Thanksgiving Holiday(and I hope yours was equally as enjoyable if you celebrate), and I kind of fell for it. I always wanted to get into the DSLR camera space, but all the options, costs, and learning curves swayed me away from them. That was until my friend let me use his D3200. I knew it was only a "beginner" DSLR, but the pictures I was the pictures I took with it with my family really impressed me. The fish-eye lens he also had made for some awesome turkey-feasting shots at the dining table. The ease of use quickly made me love it within minutes of handling it for the first time. I would always go to Best Buy and look at their DSLR availability, but I would never be comfortable enough leaving with one. This time, it was too easy of a choice, but I bought it online. It was too good of a deal to pass up. Now I just have to wait for it:( It's the standard kit version with the AF-S DX 18-55mm lens.

Can anyone suggest a good macro lens/set that is not extremely expensive?
 

RavingMac

Well-known member
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Jan 7, 2008
Messages
8,303
Reaction score
242
Points
63
Location
In Denial
Your Mac's Specs
16Gb Mac Mini 2018, 15" MacBook Pro 2012 1 TB SSD
What are you wanting to shoot macro of, and under what conditions?

FWIW you can get some pretty good macro-ish shots with the 18-55 lens by using a tripod, remote release and good lighting.

For choosing a true macro lens, one of the determinates is the working distance (how far from the subject you will be). There are others, but this isn't really one of my areas of expertise.

EDIT: and what denotes expensive? Photography is definitely not a cheap hobby.
Most macro lens will run you between $500 and $1000, not a lot for a good lens. The Nikon 40mm is quite inexpensive at under $300 the last time I checked. Tamron 90mm gets good reviews, again, comes back to more than just $$$.

EDIT2: I will repeat the best advice I know.
Pickup the Nikon 35mm f1.8, a real bargain for under $200, and spend some quality time with it and the 18-55mm kit lens. Don't buy any other lens (except perhaps a cheap telezoom eg 55-200, 55-300 or 70-300). After you get a good feel for what your current gear can (and can't) do well you are better positioned to make informed decisions on expensive gear.
Believe me, your wallet will thank you for listening.

EDIT3: and honestly, I wouldn't even buy the cheap telezoom yet.
The problem is there is no one solution that fits every photographer. Until you know yourself (in particular what you shoot and under what conditions) you can't choose a best fit. This leads to multiple buys and overlapping lenses (not always bad).

In my case, I got the 55-200 as a kit package (a very good and often under rated lens) and soon upgraded to a 70-300mm VR (better build, faster focus and more range). In reality, the better fit for how I shoot would have been the 70-200 f4, which costs about twice what I paid for the 55-200 and 70-300.
At this point though, I can't see paying the additional cost for a significant, but not overwhelming improvement over my 70-300. If someone were to offer me what I have invested in these two lenses, I would pop for the 70-200 f4. As it is, I will concentrate my $$$ where they will buy me substantial performance upgrades.
A similar story with the Nikon 18-200, which I also own. It's a decent lens, but I wouldn't buy it today, knowing what I now know.
 
Joined
Apr 20, 2009
Messages
4,301
Reaction score
124
Points
63
Location
The lonely planet
Your Mac's Specs
Too many...
Thanks for your reply! I asked for the macro lens because I always find myself in need of taking real close shots of small object where nothing I have seems to work. The distance I usually want to work at is about 4 inches. The kit lens might be able to do the trick, but I have yet to try it. I can't wait for it to come in.
 
Joined
Nov 1, 2007
Messages
1,246
Reaction score
80
Points
48
Location
Swansea - South Wales
Your Mac's Specs
21 M1 Pro 14" MBP, 23 M2 Pro Mac Mini (MacOS 14), iPhone 15 Pro Max (iOS 17), iPad 6 (iPadOS 17)
both Tamron and Sigma do reasonably priced 70-300mm lenses which although without true 1:1 macro capability are nonetheless very good for macro work.

If you are working off a tripod then there's no need for any vibration control mechanism.

Tamron -70-300mm F/4-5.6(Model A17)

Sigma Imaging UK | 70-300mm F4-5.6 DG MACRO

my sister uses the Sigma one on her Canon and has got some great results
 
Joined
Nov 26, 2012
Messages
1,035
Reaction score
22
Points
38
Location
Agusan del Norte, Philippines
Your Mac's Specs
L2012 Mini, i7 2.6Ghz, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD(fusion), BenQ 32" 2.5k QHD Display
both Tamron and Sigma do reasonably priced 70-300mm lenses which although without true 1:1 macro capability are nonetheless very good for macro work.

...................

my sister uses the Sigma one on her Canon and has got some great results

I ended up purchasing the Sigma 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Macro DC OS HSM (New lens model, old model is not a Macro and is larger) the other day. Both it and the Tamron 18-270mm looked promising. After careful consideration and review from many online sources. The censuses was that while both are great lens, the Sigma had much better build quality and while the Sigma had noticeable barrel distortion at 18mm it easily cleaned up by f/6 as well as images being super sharp at that aperture. Real world expectations can be while any super zoom lens will never look as good as a prime lens, but however the Sigma 18-250mm Macro is still much better then the new Canon 18-135mm STM kit lens in both focusing performance and build quality. The Sigma 18-250mm Macro may appear to be plastic at first glance, its out of a material comparable to polycarbonate. The material however is designed to not be effected by thermal changes as much as say regular plastic or magnesium based material. Only down side is that it doesn't have any weather sealing. Sadly none of my lens currently do :(. But with this lens I can replace the god awful canon 28-135mm that my wife purchased and the canon 70-300 that doesn't have image stabilizer with just this one lens. I got mine off Amazon if anyone is interested for $349 the other day, which is about 200 less then normal msrp. But that was black friday, so not sure on the price at the time anyone reads this.

Big reason I wanted this lens other then plain out needed a good all around lens is that got tired of switching out lens when taking a walk-about. Nothing worse then about mid day getting freaking dust in your camera and dang near ruining a few hundred pics. This way I can cut down to 3 lens in my bag; my Canon EF 85mm, Canon EF-S 10-22mm and the new Sigma on my camera.

But my madness didn't stop here, I went a head and ordered the Canon 70D. This way I can give my T3i back to my wife and her crappy lens she likes and have a camera of my very own. I also ordered a NEEWER Battery Grip and some off brand batteries. Not really confident in the batteries I ordered. I got two for $23. Really thinking I should have just got a authentic canon battery but I was trying to stay within a budget.

Anyone have any experiences with aftermarket/off brand batteries? I got one in our T3i's battery grip and it seems great. But looking online at some of the horror stories I am not really sure I want those in my camera without fully testing them first. Thoughts anyone??

Cheers,
Joe
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top