FEATURED The Big Photography Thread

[Automata]

Forgot to mention that last year, my ex either got a good chunk of my camera gear stolen or he sold it. I don't know at this point, but he lied about basically everything. Won't talk about the details here, but after I got out of the relationship, I've been getting back into photography. I only had the 70D, 18-135mm IS STM lens, the batteries, and the camera bag it came with. Lost two lenses, the macro extension tubes, the bag, and a bunch of accessories.

So, I've had to build up from nothing. Picked up gear I had previously and some I've wanted for years.

Picked up:
67mm neutral density filters (not pictured)
Circular polarizing filter
Pixel TW-283 (not pictured)
Ulanzi VL120 LED w/ hot shoe attachment
Cheap macro extension tubes (not pictured)
JJC ES-2 for digitizing 35mm film (not here yet)
Nanlite Pavotube II 6C
7artisans 10mm f/2.8 fisheye
A larger camera bag to store everything


This bag is a lot bigger than I was expecting.

I'm going to have a lot of fun with this wide angle lens. The Nikon has "focus peaking" on the display, which makes manual focusing easy.

 

[Automata]

Lightroom Classic recently added an AI based denoise feature, and the results are incredible. This is a 100% zoom comparison of the same image.

 

[Blaylock]

Wow. That is fantastic! I have some night shots that I would really like to plug into that. Maybe I'll look into it.

 

[hokiealumnus]

Holy cow, that is impressive.

 

[Automata]

Holy cow, that is impressive.

As much as I dislike Adobe, Lightroom (Classic) is exceptionally good. Before I upgraded to CC from 5.7, I tried a few of the open source options and they were a joke. It wouldn't recognize the new raw format on my Nikon Z6 II, even though it has been out for awhile. The workflow was horrible. The UI was horrible. It took forever to edit photos and the features were lacking. For $120/yr, I'll deal with Adobe because it is so much faster and easier to use.

 

[Automata]

The only thing I don't like about my Nikon Z6 II is the screen can only be adjusted up or down, and even then, it is fairly limited. I frequently take photos with the camera close to the ground or at awkward angles where I can't see the screen. I have to guess on whether the shot is framed correctly, and if I'm using my wide angle lens, guessing whether the shot is in focus.

I picked up a SmallRig and Portkeys PT6 screen.




I normally carry a backpack with camera gear since I'm out for hours at a time, so I got a belt to hold gear -- lenses, batteries, extra cards, etc. This will easily hold my 40,000 mAh battery pack, which will last me all day. I also have a lens case which straps to the belt, not pictured.

 

[Automata]

Did a test fit of the belt tonight before this weekend's pride and other events. Took two pouches off, relocated the big one the battery was in, and added the lens pouch. It is much better than the backpack I was carrying at FWA. I can swap the lens without too much trouble and this should hurt my back less.

 

[Blaylock]

A Peter Parker/Bruce Wayne mash-up. LOL

J/K Looks like a good set-up.

 

[EarthDog]

You look ready!

 

[Audioaficionado]

I'm just getting back into DSLR photography. I still have my Canon Rebel T2i I bought used 9 years ago. The shutter count is fairly low in spite of its 13y age. I haven't used it much over the years. I also have a Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS super zoom I aquired at the same time.

Now I've ordered two more Canon zooms. Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM and Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM.

I found my old Nikon F2 kit bag and several FF primes in a mildew ridden corner behind some junk. Hopefully the Nikor primes aren't ruined and can be cleaned up. The camera was already broken, but now it's too nasty even for a parts only body. If the Nikor lenses are still OK, I'll get a Nikon F to Canon EF Novoflex adapter next month.

Update: All my once beautiful Nikor prime lenses are filled with mildew. More speckles than a snow globe

Next year, if I really get hooked back on this hobby and advance with it, maybe I'll step up to a FF Mirrorless kit.

 

[JLK03F150]

I'm just getting back into DSLR photography. I still have my Canon Rebel T2i I bought used 9 years ago. The shutter count is fairly low in spite of its 13y age. I haven't used it much over the years. I also have a Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS super zoom I aquired at the same time.

Now I've ordered two more Canon zooms. Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM and Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM.

I found my old Nikon F2 kit bag and several FF primes in a mildew ridden corner behind some junk. Hopefully the Nikor primes aren't ruined and can be cleaned up. The camera was already broken, but now it's too nasty even for a parts only body. If the Nikor lenses are still OK, I'll get a Nikon F to Canon EF Novoflex adapter next month.

Next year, if I really get hooked back on this hobby and advance with it, maybe I'll step up to a FF Mirrorless kit.

I have the Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM and here's a shot maxed out on my Rebel T3i. The neighbors had a bee hive leave the hive, swarm in my back yard, then settle in the top of this tree. The sound while they were swarming was crazy. Nice lens for the price, really brings things in close & sharp (if you don't camera shake like me. lol).

 

[Audioaficionado]

IS and AF are great features to help with hand held shots. Monopods are cheap and compact too. I wish I'd gotten the T3i for the flipping rear LCD, but I cheaped out. I could get the T7i for a few hundred bux, but then I'd be half way to a decent used FF mirrorless which are only a few years old like the Canon EOS R. It's the pro action cameras that do video and rapid fire stills that cost kilo buck prices.

 

[Automata]

Had a busy weekend around Sioux Falls Pride. The belt worked fantastic.

Even though the weather for Pride was crud, we had over 10,000 people show up, and the group I'm part of had a float in the parade. I took photos of the group for the parade, a friend's marriage proposal, and an after party. The day after, my partner and I went out to the Black Hills for a short vacation. We stopped at the Corn Palace, Badlands National Park, hit a trail, Mt Rushmore, then headed back home and did one more photoshoot the next day.

In total, I took 3601 photos. It was a busy few days.

Picked up a ProGrade 512gb CFExpress card for the camera. With the secondary overflow 128gb SD card, I should be able to store 17,000 photos at minimum.

Here are a few photos I took. I've uploaded everything to Flickr:

AutomataDog’s albums | Flickr

www.flickr.com

 

[Automata]

Picked up a used Nikkor 85mm f/1.8 for very small depth of field shots. It is in the sweet spot of being a very fast lens while not being overly expensive. If I want faster, it goes to $1600-7000 in a hurry. This is also my first prime lens.



Played around with it a bit in the house.

 

[Zerileous]

Looks like a great portrait lens!!

 

[Audioaficionado]

I had an 85mm Nikkor f/1.8. Loved it and used it a lot.

In some dusty forgotten box, I still have a 300mm Nikkor somewhere. It would be the equivalent of a 480mm on my APS-C sensor Canon DSLR.

 

[Al_bundy]

Unfortunality i didnt had my DSLR in Manila. But the pix r still not that bad even i took it with a smartphone.

Venice gran canal mall and Filling Station.

 

[Railgun]

If I want faster, it goes to $1600-7000 in a hurry.

I have a 50mm 1.4 that was less than $400 new at the time.

I've been eyeballing going mirrorless for a while, but it seems we'd get fleeced (as they say over here) on lenses. That's a helluva premium.

The 70-200 f2.8 is $500 more! That's nuts. While you could use an f to z adapter...that's still terrible. At least there's an adapter...

 

[Automata]

I ordered the new Nikon 180-600mm telephoto lens in Nov 2023, but it was still on backorder and I was worried I wouldn't use that long of a lens often. I talked myself into and was convinced to buy the 70-200mm f/2.8 S lens and what a beast. I don't have anyone to test this one, but it seems to be fantastic.

This boy is CHONKY.

 

[Automata]

Also, I have to give another shoutout to the Lightroom Classic denoise feature. I was in a dark hotel lobby and I forgot to switch my camera back to 1/60s shutter. 51,200 ISO. This is also with an increase of exposure in LRC, so the noise is exaggerated more than the original. The difference is pretty incredible; make sure to view the full version.