I'm selling a canon 430ex II, if anyone needs a flash. I'm having trouble figuring out what they go for. $200 maybe?

I'll be in Raleigh on Monday. I don't have the pouch case or the foot thing with me but I can mail them when I get back to Miami.

7/13/2013 4:50:12 PM

^Well, damn. If I only had purchased that wireless flash trigger. Been thinking about a two-flash setup for a while. Pretty sure $200 is a good selling price for a used 430ex II. I think mine, brand new, was in the $300 range.

Quote :

"Another advice question (answer his^ first though). I ended up getting a Canon T2i a couple months ago (refurb, but still in box factory sealed for $370, which I thought was pretty good). I've been using the kit lens but I'd like to start branching out a bit. So, still trying to keep it reasonable, I'm wondering what would be the better course of action. I could go for the EF 50mm f/1.8, which would give me a lot of extra aperture range compared to the kit lens (f/3.5 at the wide end). It's not IS, which might be a problem as I don't have particularly steady hands, but perhaps I need to learn to be less reliant on stabilization and it's not as much of a problem at that focal length. Plus it's compatible with a much wider range of bodies, being EF (though I don't know how well a $125 lens would hold up over time...) Alternately, I could add something like the EF-S 55-250mm. That gives me a lot longer range than the kit lens, and while its f/4 at the wide end is nothing special, it's better than the kit lens at that length. Plus it would give me almost as much tele capability as the older superzoom compact I've been keeping in the bag in case I needed it. I don't shoot a lot of landscapes or action but I do enjoy architectural detail shots, so the zoom capability might come in handy. But the universal opinion seems to be that the 50mm f/1.8 is a lens you need to have in your bag. So which one first... *If anyone has a suggestion for an inexpensive but good lens for a crop body Canon, I'm listening as well. "

Think about what you're going to be shooting the most. I know I shoot different subjects than most people here, but my 50mm sat in my bag for years when I was new and later came to be the lens I use most (mostly because I'm going for tight, small animal portraits). The image sharpness is astounding, compared to any of the kit lenses.

55-250 mm IS - I ended up trying it out and giving it to my parents shortly after. I have a 75-300 that takes care of most of my telephoto needs. Sure, you want IS on a bigger lens like that because of the magnification of your shake, but relying on IS more than dealing with available light will not allow you to advance your shooting style. At least in my opinion.


[Edited on July 13, 2013 at 7:15 PM. Reason : g]

7/13/2013 7:09:31 PM

http://www.amazon.com/Tamron-18-270mm-3-5-6-3-Aspherical-Nikon/dp/B001DYC0CS/ref=sr_1_139?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1373816068&sr=1-139


seems like way too good of a deal, but I'm intrigued. Do any of you have experience with this lens?

7/14/2013 11:35:41 AM

Matanuska Glacier, AK over the 4th of July weekend

7/14/2013 12:12:28 PM

^bad ass! I'd love to do a glacier hike in AL. Photo looks a bit over sharpened, although it may be just the texture of the glacier.

I am selling my Canon EF-S 18-200 if anyone is looking for a travel lens for their Canon crop body

7/14/2013 12:18:03 PM

Tamron 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 AF DI-II LD IF Lens For Canon EOS, With 6-Year USA Warranty

$183 (plus $30 visa gift card) after $20 MIR, free 2-day shipping and no tax

http://www.buydig.com/shop/product.aspx?sdtid=6148866&sku=TM18200XRDIEOS

sony: http://www.buydig.com/shop/product.aspx?sdtid=6148866&sku=TM18200XRDIMA
pentax: http://www.buydig.com/shop/product.aspx?sdtid=6148866&sku=TM18200XRDIPA
nikon (OOS, i think): http://www.buydig.com/shop/product.aspx?sdtid=6148866&sku=TM18200XRDINA2

7/15/2013 9:24:58 AM

Enjoy

7/15/2013 7:41:49 PM

7/15/2013 9:21:29 PM

[Edited on July 15, 2013 at 9:38 PM. Reason : ]

7/15/2013 9:34:18 PM

http://www.amazon.com/Tamron-18-270mm-3-5-6-3-Aspherical-Nikon/dp/B001DYC0CS/ref=sr_1_139?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1373816068&sr=1-139


seems like way too good of a deal, but I'm intrigued. Do any of you have experience with this lens?

7/16/2013 7:21:48 PM

It's kinda blah, but decent as an all in one travel lens if your looking to take uninteresting touristy pictures, but don't be fooled with the price, when they first were launched, they were $650, not the listed 1300 MSRP... You have to be stupid to pay that much for such a shit lens. They go for 400-450 now days. Its cheaper on buydig.com

As far as the lens go, its more like a pretty decent 35-70 general purpose that sorta makes 100-200 work some of the times. Wide angle and super tele are completely worthless as distortion, vignetting and sharpness are just terrible, even when stopping down a few times. Build quality is blah, AF is slow and temperamental. You would be better off served with buying the Tamron 18-200 for half the price that does a better job at wide angle if you are looking for capabilities on a budget. I mean image quality is going to suffer compared to getting shorter zoom ranged lenses of similar build quality, but you are taking a huge compromise on saving space, money and being lazy.

Also, I will be starting to teach photo workshops in Atlanta in two weeks so it'll be interesting to get back on the grove of things. Did my first photo shoot in a long time this weekend with a model from Kansas, so she stayed the entire weekend at my place, shot a lot and I made some killer food of which she claimed she "never ate so good".

7/23/2013 10:51:21 PM

More frog and salamander portraits...

7/23/2013 11:00:27 PM

Good to know that you are back in the businessJBaz. Shit's not easy, but don't give up! You know what you're doing. Just go easy on the corny jokes and you'll be allright, boss.

7/24/2013 1:00:14 AM

But I'm asian... Corn jokes are all I know... specially if I can throw in a jab about Rayon Fibers... Terrible Processed Wood Pulp T-shirt joke? Yup...

I'm only back in the photo world for a little bit, till I get back up on my feet and actually get a career job in Marketing and/or IT sys admin position then it would again reside in the forever "expensive as shit hobby" mode. Been all over the place doing random things for the past few years.

7/24/2013 1:21:56 AM

Sometimes I think it's better go back to doing it as a hobby, it's so much more pure and unadulterated. But then I remember the cubicle days and it makes me cringe. Grass is always greener on the other side.

7/24/2013 1:38:36 AM

good thing I hate grass. Just give me a pretty concrete slab or some low maintenance trees...

7/24/2013 1:42:01 AM

You may find that in Atlanta. Just remember that wearing your race suit while walking to the grocery store is dangerous to your health on your average August day in Georgia

7/24/2013 1:51:09 AM

I want a prime lens for landscape stuff but don't have a huge budget. Does anyone have any thoughts on this lens:
Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras
http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-35mm-1-8G-Digital-Cameras/dp/B001S2PPT0/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=1KEI5N5VUHPQN&coliid=I1J5MJTM402022

It's got great reviews and the price seems good. Right now I have the standard 18-55 kit lens, I want to get a prime lens and then eventually a decent 18-200ish for travel.

Should I get something shorter?

7/24/2013 8:25:43 AM

some really nice pics on this page

7/24/2013 8:34:48 AM

^^Dtown, I have that lens. I will say that it is a tack sharp little lens. I don't use it as much for landscapes because of my 17-35mm/2.8 lens & the 12-24mm/1.8 lens that I am using right now. However, if 35 would cover it, I will switch out that lens in a heartbeat, as it will be much sharper than either, and is faster than both to boot. If I didn't have the wide angle zooms, I would use the 35 more, but I often skip it to go zoom, and then jump up to my 50mm/1.8 or 85mm/1.8 lens. But I did shoot with it again last night at a church thing and that 35 still works awesome. Just realize that if you ever go full frame, that lens will not be nearly as useful.

If you are going on a budget though, you should consider checking out the local camera stores. I have bought all of my prime lenses used from Southeast here in Carrboro and have saved a bit of money and got some great value. Also, since I was buying used, I was able to grab the slightly older, but non AF-S, lenses that were actually made in Japan. They are heavier, but they are a bit more robust, with a metal case instead of the plastic like my 35mm. But if you are looking to get your first "real" lens, the 35mm and the 50mm would be my first two choices.

7/24/2013 8:48:17 AM

@Dtownral: Depends on what kind of landscapes and what camera body you have. 35mm on a crop body turns it into a 53mm and most landscape nature shots are more posed towards the 17-24 (full frame) range.

If anything, I'd ask you first if you have a decent tripod, because for nature/landscape shots, it's all about having a stable surface for long exposures. Don't even bother trying to spend the extra money for large aperture prime lenses for landscape shots since most of the time, you want to shoot in the f/11-22+ range anyhow; even the shittiest of plastic lenses does a decent job of taking a sharp f/11+ photo.

My advice would be:
1. Invest in a professional, rock solid tripod & head (~100+)
2. Grab some ND filters on Amazon ($15-30 each)
3. Remote shutter cable ($20)

Then rock out with your socks out with your kit 18-55 lens and see what you can shoot. Nikon kit lenses are far superior compared to canon's shitty one. Although, they are still shit compared to pro lenses... hehe

7/24/2013 12:20:14 PM

I just moved back to Raleigh last weekend and really doing some cool stuff. Anyhow, I want to ask if anyone here would be interested in being my test students so I can practice and see how well my new lesson plans for my new photo seminars will go.

I'm going to Arizona next month for about 3 weeks to teach and want to see how well my material will work in terms of my teaching style and time management. I've already contacted The Art Institute in Durham about teaching there in the fall and I want to show them something tangible as a realistic photo seminar series. I've already used similar materials for past seminars, but I'm going very in depth with the science, math and technology behind the art.

Basically condensing my entire photo education and experience to half a day worth of material. All the meat without the BS.

So far I've separated it into a two part series, about 2-3 hours each.
- Photo fundamentals
- Lighting fundamentals

I'm more stressed in terms of how much material I can cover for photo fundamentals since its a huge topic to cover. I'm tentatively setting up August 17th as the date for the test seminar with a friend or two, but more the merrier. As far as location, I might book a conference room at a local library or even have it hosted at the Tech Shop in Raleigh. TBA.

PM for details.

8/9/2013 1:44:47 PM

^I might be interested, but are you looking for people that know most of this stuff already to critique it, or more looking for people just getting started who would probably learn a lot more and then see their takeaway from it?

Either way I might be down.

8/9/2013 2:06:36 PM

Quote :

"If anything, I'd ask you first if you have a decent tripod, because for nature/landscape shots, it's all about having a stable surface for long exposures. Don't even bother trying to spend the extra money for large aperture prime lenses for landscape shots since most of the time, you want to shoot in the f/11-22+ range anyhow; even the shittiest of plastic lenses does a decent job of taking a sharp f/11+ photo. My advice would be: 1. Invest in a professional, rock solid tripod & head (~100+) 2. Grab some ND filters on Amazon ($15-30 each) 3. Remote shutter cable ($20) Then rock out with your socks out with your kit 18-55 lens and see what you can shoot. Nikon kit lenses are far superior compared to canon's shitty one. Although, they are still shit compared to pro lenses... hehe"

thanks for the advice

i do already have a tripod and remote trigger (wireless, not cable). I've also got a polarizing filter which has a tint like a ND filter.

one thing I do want to get is a tripod that I can level easier, maybe with a pivot head or something. I don't like having to adjust leg lengths to get the platform perfectly level, I'd love to get it 99% and have a pivot head for any fine adjustments to get it level. most of the pistol grip and other pivot head tripods that i saw were expensive though.

(I do plan on getting ND filters. I was limited with shutter speed when I took some waterfall shots, the polarizing filter just wasn't dark enough for the times i wanted)

[Edited on August 9, 2013 at 2:19 PM. Reason : .]

8/9/2013 2:18:20 PM

Quote :

"I might be interested, but are you looking for people that know most of this stuff already to critique it, or more looking for people just getting started who would probably learn a lot more and then see their takeaway from it?"

All levels of photography knowledge, because I will guarantee you that even seasoned pro's won't know half of the stuff that I'll be teaching. I'm going as far as biology, astrophysics and particle physics to teach photography.

Even if you think the math is way above your pay grade, I'm going to just lightly cover it and hopefully explain it so easy that people would start to get even basic forms of geometry, trigonometry and calculus and do it so easy that it becomes second nature; basically applied science without you even knowing you are actually applying it!

I've taught similar materials before, but never really went so well in depth so I want to make sure my teaching methods still work.

Quote :

"one thing I do want to get is a tripod that I can level easier, maybe with a pivot head or something"

Yes, a tripod head is a must. Ball heads, pistol grip or pan/tilt head. Just make sure you get a proper weighted one. The rule of thumb is take whatever heaviest lens you have (or plan on having in the near future) plus camera body and multiple that by 1.5 and that's the weight support you should get. Almost every head that I've tried over the years, the rated support is never the real support; right around 60-70% load, they tend to bend or droop even when you lock it down.

8/9/2013 3:45:55 PM

i've got a pan/tilt head now but "rolling" is too hard to get right if you don't set it up perfect. (I'm not sure what the photography term would be, but rotating it about the axis of the lens like rolling an airplane). I want a head that will allow me to fix that without fiddling with leg lengths.

8/9/2013 5:50:27 PM

Some recent images...uninteresting field guide shots.

8/10/2013 5:24:00 PM

Love the frog shots. I always think they are cool subjects though.

So, I finally got a D5100 and am very happy I did. Even using it in auto/point-and-shoot mode with very little tweaking, it blows away any of the actual point-and-shoots I tested imo. (even the widely praised Panasonic LX7). So with that, plus the fact that I actually have the ability to "grow" with the camera and pick up additional lenses, etc. I think it was well worth it for the price point.

I included the first two pictures I took with the camera as soon as it was out of the box and the battery was charged (wife and dog). I'm certainly not a photographer but the quality is night and day even in auto with a stock lens compared to my phone or the couple point and shoots we own. Thanks for the great feedback and insight in this thread when I asked a couple months ago when considering the new purchase!





[Edited on August 11, 2013 at 11:57 AM. Reason : ]

8/11/2013 11:53:32 AM

^Congrats! I started with a D40 (generation before the D3X00 series) and still have it around. But to be honest the mid-level prosumer D80-D90-D7X00 series has more growth room for me because it has the AF motor in the body. Half of my lenses now are AF lenses, so they have no auto-focus ability on the lower model cameras. Most of my recent purchases of older prime lenses has been because of my ownership of a D7000. If you find one used on sale, I would strongly recommend taking advantage of it. Since the D7100 is out, if budget is a concern I would think about making that jump up if you like having a dSLR.

[Edited on August 11, 2013 at 1:43 PM. Reason : ]

8/11/2013 1:42:34 PM

8/11/2013 7:39:52 PM

Ok guys, if you are in the RDU area, I'm doing the photo seminar at the Eva Perry Library in Apex from 1-4pm. Please PM me so I can make sure who will be coming since its a small meeting room.

8/14/2013 5:36:24 PM

Cute as a motherfucker!

8/18/2013 4:09:04 PM

8/18/2013 4:25:34 PM

are you guys trying to get some recognition for these pics other than posting them on wolfweb?

8/18/2013 5:05:32 PM

My sister offered to buy a print from me one time.

8/18/2013 5:31:49 PM

I was offered a part time instructor/contractor position at the AI teaching photography and film; basically a regular scheduled guest speaker. Apparently their film curriculum just started this fall so it'll be interesting in how I'll adapt my lesson plans for assisting the Director of Media Communications there. I literally walked into their door this past week with my camera gear and video stabilizer rig as I was shooting in the area; asked if they needed people.

Also, refined my LED light panel 6x6" design in CAD. 200 super bright LED's using the latest tech, 160,000+ Lumes!!! 2000w power requirement. Color temp digital controller and LED panel's are easily replaceable... Already got an architectural firm and an industrial led retrofit consultant firm interested in my design for their own purposes, but scaling the tech to be used in a host of products including industrial, commercial, residential, interior and exterior applications; mostly for my own needs... hehe

Already have two electrical engineers helping me with the power supply and wiring diagrams, plus I plan on doing a partnership with Cree since I'll be using their LED's. I'm hopeful I'll have a scaled down prototype built before the year is out and have a good idea on the logistics of sourcing material, manufacturing and design of everything to really dive into a full business plan. Might do a kickstarter for it in the spring if planets align and everything follows the fast pace plan.

8/18/2013 9:23:24 PM

Just upgraded from my D3100 to a D7100 - talk about a whole new world...

I also upgraded some glass from a Tamron 18-270 to a Nikkor 18-200; also like the results so far. Even my 35mm 1.8 and 50mm 1.8 have produced much better results after the upgrade.

9/17/2013 11:26:05 AM

I need to get some 8x10" b&w prints done, where do you guys go for printing? (bonus points if they have a Lightroom plugin for easy ordering)

9/28/2013 5:09:06 PM

White House Custom Colors is the best printer I've used, but I had to stop a while ago because their user interface for the ordering process was too tedious for jobs with lots of different prints and sizes
http://www.whcc.com/

I just switched to Adoramapix for prints and ordering since they integrate with Lightroom and Photoshelter really well. I heard good things about them and their prices are better than WHCC, though I haven't had a chance to do any side by side comparisons to comment on overall quality.
http://www.adoramapix.com

Also, this thread has been dead for a while. No one's taking pics?
I've got a bunch of stuff on the card that I need to download and edit, I'll try and post some stuff here if I can get it done this weekend.

[Edited on September 28, 2013 at 6:00 PM. Reason : ]

9/28/2013 6:00:13 PM

I'm taking pics

but i upload large ones to tumblr and don't want to clog up the thread with 1500px wide shots and am being too lazy to re-export them smaller or use flickr

http://alexbroadwell.tumblr.com/

9/28/2013 6:15:48 PM

Anyone use 500px? Seems like another good photo sharing platform, its geared towards photographers and not social photos and I've learned a lot browsing around

9/28/2013 6:31:10 PM

^^Great stuff. I get in the same boat, though I think if I were to spend an afternoon in lightroom's extension manager I could learn a little bit more about creating a workflow that published to multiple sites at different resolutions.

^I signed up for 500px and created a small gallery. So far all I can see is it's a niche social site for photographers that doesn't seem to foster any kind of networking or real world benefits. I've been unimpressed with it so far.

Quote :

"I've learned a lot browsing around"

That's the one thing I've really liked about it is using it for inspiration. It's difficult to create original ideas 100% of the time, so I like to browse through it for photos to try and recreate when I'm stuck at home for an afternoon. I've alway been pretty happy with my flash work at events and such, but I've never had much studio experience, so trying to recreate product shots, head shots and other tabletop projects has taught me a lot about manipulating artificial light.

Other sites like Flickr tend to get so clogged up with junk that it's tedious to browse through any collection of images without having to wade through pages of crap shot by everyone with a point and shoot or iphone.

9/28/2013 6:47:17 PM

Spotted this guy while out on Hyco. Fortunately I had my camera and zoom lens on me.



Hanging Rock State Park





Taken while hiking Mt Mitchell





[Edited on September 28, 2013 at 9:24 PM. Reason : .]

9/28/2013 9:18:43 PM

I had hoped to get more of the rolling hills in the background, which is why I shot against the sun, but otherwise I'm generally happy with the shot of this southern hognose.

9/30/2013 10:05:41 PM

Don't mind me if I just spam a few more of my photos.















Obviously, I've been concentrating more on tight portraits than anything else for the past 2 years or so. Started mostly when my field work cut out and I was left with primarily animals I'd find at night, when in-habitat shots don't really work.

10/3/2013 1:02:17 AM

I think your macro shots aren't good... they are awesome. Specially the two lizard shots with black background. Seriously, you need to put those on a stock website somewhere. Its a powerful shot that should be used in a simple commercial ad or something you'd see on National Geo.

10/3/2013 1:29:28 AM

I agree wit JBaz, and I also say fuck microstock. Sell it as art prints. Do a couple of local art shows. Seriously, you'll do just fine.

10/3/2013 1:58:32 AM

I'm curious what your setup is for those shots myself. Do you have a macro lens/ring flash combo?

10/3/2013 6:39:39 AM

I agree as well. I always like umop-apisdn's macro pics.

10/3/2013 9:11:10 AM

Yea, I think his shots are great and honestly, it has made me very interested in doing macro photography. I have a Micro-Nikkor 60mm f/2.8 macro lens and an older Nikon ring flash for film cameras, as well as a much older MF Nikon 105mm f/2.8 lens. I have done some shooting with it, and had pretty good results, but I haven't had as interesting subjects as you.

Also, just to let everybody know, Our State Magazine is doing a photography contest now. The prize isn't that great, but its a chance to get your work possibly printed out in a magazine and get some exposure. The most disappointing part to me has been the animal category, which has been sadly lacking. You can see all of the submissions already, and many of them are shitty pictures of deer and pets taken with somebodies camera phone. Some of the past award winners have been great shots of elk in outdoor environments, but I think some of your close up macro work could be a refreshing chance. The biggest rule is shots have to be made since 10/1/11 and have to be done in NC with a maximum of 5 submissions.

http://ourstate.upickem.net/engine/Welcome.aspx?contestid=106317

[Edited on October 3, 2013 at 10:00 AM. Reason : ]

10/3/2013 9:40:06 AM