FEATURED The Big Photography Thread

GTX, I got the same light kit. So far I've changed the case to a StudioPro case, wasn't a fan of how the case opened. I've added 2 30" silver interior, 2 40" gold interior, Phottix Varos II XS and a 30" translucent umbrella sent by mistake. I already had a cowboystudio lightstand I used with my flash. Looking at getting another Phottix Varos II XS, silver, gold umbrellas as well as a few 85 or 105 watt bulbs.

Wicked Klown said:

GTX, I got the same light kit. So far I've changed the case to a StudioPro case, wasn't a fan of how the case opened. I've added 2 30" silver interior, 2 40" gold interior, Phottix Varos II XS and a 30" translucent umbrella sent by mistake. I already had a cowboystudio lightstand I used with my flash. Looking at getting another Phottix Varos II XS, silver, gold umbrellas as well as a few 85 or 105 watt bulbs.

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Oh sweet. Nice setup there. Yeah the funds were tight and couldn't pass out on this one. The only thing I might add to that setup is the higher watt bulbs as you stated and the black and silver umbrellas.

My Xmas is up and testing out an old Minolta wide angle prime lens on a7....
Minolta 24mm f2.8 RS + LA-EA4 adaptor // f11, 15s, ISO-100
FULL SIZE IMAGE HERE 6000x4000

Amazon has a sale on Pelican 1510-004-110 Case with Padded Dividers for $120. It is the 'FAA maximum carry-on size' case from Pelican, but I heard it's a pretty heavy case.

Interesting video that shows the inner workings of how a SLR takes a picture.

Very cool; thanks for sharing!

thideras said:

Interesting video that shows the inner workings of how a SLR takes a picture.

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Wow, awesome. Thank you for this.

Did you guys see the T6s? It's definitely no 70D, but Canon just ate into their xxD sales for the on-the-fence-between-the-Rebel-vs-xxD crowd.

There are also the massive-megapixel 5Ds & 5Ds R. Too many pixels, if you ask me. They admit to having the same noise performance as the 7D Mark II. Call me silly, but the point of a FF camera is better low light performance. The pixels in there are so dense it doesn't help in that arena. Plus the sensor is going to out-resolve many lenses on the market. Granted, it has its place (think high res stuff from, like, the space station, where Nikons are used right now thanks in part to their 36MP resolution. But aside from specialty stuff, I think I'd pass even if I had the budget.

Nikon D7200 has announced!
Major improvements are:
Larger buffer for burst shooting
New Expeed 4 processor
I'm pretty sure it's a newer 24MP sensor for better dynamic range
Updated with faster AF Multi-CAM 3500DX II module with better -3EV AF sensitivity
Wifi with NFC for communication with smartphones and tablets
Longer battery life

I'm pleased to announce I decided on the newest addition to my kit. For my birthday (the end of next month, unfortunately), my wonderful, beautiful, awesome wife is getting me an EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM!

No, it's not an L lens, or anywhere even close. However, after plenty of deliberation/soul searching, I came to the decision I'd use that more than a) the 10-18mm STM or the b) 50mm STM. Also, I already have the 50mm II. Those were the only other real contenders; I'm no professional and just can't justify L quality glass, no matter how much I want it, I'm neither that good nor could that kind of budget be justified without making plenty of income from my photos (that number is currently a big fat zero). Hopefully the 55-250 STM will allow me to get some solid telephoto results in the future!

Now, if it shows up before Sunday, the biggest challenge is going to be getting her to let me use it just one day before late June for the airshow this weekend.....

EDIT - You can get them dirt cheap (relatively speaking) on eBay as white-box kit pulls. I got mine here for $173.29, a steal for the quality it's supposed to have. There were numerous reasons to buy the STM over the older IS II, but if you're on an extremely tight budget, I should mention you can get the older lens refurbished from Canon for only $99.99.

hokiealumnus said:

my wonderful, beautiful, awesome wife

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You know you can only get brownie points if she can see what you type, right?

Congrats on the new lens! Thought the 50mm was for your birthday.

That 55-250 tele would make an excellent lens for astro-photography.

ATMINSIDE said:

You know you can only get brownie points if she can see what you type, right?

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Yes, but it's true whether she can see it or not.

neonblingbling said:

Congrats on the new lens! Thought the 50mm was for your birthday.

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Thanks! You're right of course,I did...last year. Tell you what though, the new 50mm f/1.8 STM is looking gooooooood....

Audioaficionado said:

That 55-250 tele would make an excellent lens for astro-photography.

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Absolutely. I'm not sure what I can get with any detail outside the moon, but that I plan on doing with gusto. Shame I can't use it until late-June though, as there are five planets floating around this month. Saturn is in an especially bright orientation too.

My biggest problem is living in Raleigh. It's not exactly dark around here. I'd have to drive quite a while to get to a good spot, which is difficult with schedule obligations/wife/child. Thus, bright objects are going to necessarily be my subjects of choice for now.

Now all you need is a telescope computerized go-to equatorial mount and sturdy tripod. You can get the telescope later as your DSLR/zoom will be it for now. You'd be surprised what beautiful wide field shots you could get with that camera. Heck you don't even need the mount right now. Just put it on a tripod, point it at the milky way and set the timer for a 30 second exposure.

hokiealumnus said:

Thanks! You're right of course,I did...last year. Tell you what though, the new 50mm f/1.8 STM is looking gooooooood....

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Doh, didn't realize it was almost a year already. Time for a new lens!

Audioaficionado said:

Now all you need is a telescope computerized go-to equatorial mount and sturdy tripod. You can get the telescope later as your DSLR/zoom will be it for now. You'd be surprised what beautiful wide field shots you could get with that camera. Heck you don't even need the mount right now. Just put it on a tripod, point it at the milky way and set the timer for a 30 second exposure.

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Do you know of a cheaper computerized mount that rotates with the sky? I've tried the "rule of 600" (600 divided by focal length for exposure time in seconds to minimize star trails), but wanted to try a tracking mounts. Just don't know where to get started.

To rotate with the sky you need an equatorial mount often called a German Equatorial Mount (GEM). A less expensive alt/az computerized mount is great for visual astronomy, but don't work past 30sec exposures at low power. Good used GEM mounts can be found for hundreds while the alt/az for much less.

Doesn't have to be German.

Finally had a few before the 4th weekend to get the new lens out and take a few shots. No, it's certainly not L-caliber, but it should do well for my purposes.

Please 'scuse the dust, I did the best I could in a short time.


Fully extended.


Plastic mount, but I don't plan on abusing it.


Horray for the new Canon lens caps!


(Taken with the 70D / EF-S 18-55 STM, some foam board, two shop lights and a single off-camera flash.)

I really like my old 55-250 IS on my T3i. I've gotten some really good shots with it. Congrats!