10D. Happy new user - sharpening break through (for me) - Bi

[thill]

Lets say upfront, sorry for the long rambling post. You have been warned, bail out now if you know what is good for ya. For those who are bailing, the short version is that I am a happy 10d camper, I will be very poor once I have all the equipment I want, and I have sniffed a bunch of experience and knowledge out of this forum - Thanks (You may bail now.)

I have had my 10d since July and have been struggling with the sharpness issue. I had an old old hp printer so I have not been printing any (much). I just bought a Canon i860 printer and printed some of the images I had converted with BreezeBrowser. They were over sharpened!! Just this weekend I have determined on my XP machine anyway that no matter how much I sharpen the image, the windows XP viewer displays it very soft if I leave it in its original resolution. I can change the resolution (re-convert with BB and resize) to fit my screen and I can see the sharpening. Now, if I go to one of my original resolution photos that I over sharpened in BB and bring it up with XP, it is very soft, if I click the view actual size button, I can clearly see the over sharpening effects. If I then press the fit to screen button... I can still see the over-sharpening effects. So there is a lot to be said about viewing at 100%. I did not get this effect with my 3mp Olympus. So... I need to output one way for printing, the other for viewing (or view in BB with high quality selected). I will start all over with sharpening values and will search past posts if I need tips. I have been reading this forum for several months now, and you guys convinced me to shoot raw, so I can start again with my sharpening.

I noticed all this from a few pictures I took of the aurora borealis this past week. I am in Kentucky and that is rare here. I took some 5 and 10 minute exposures and there were nasty black outlines around the star trails with my over-sharpened photos. My just out of the box canon printer was printing nasty big black outlines around my star trails! It did not take long to figure out the problem.

I am getting a big wish list though. I bought the 10D with the 28-135 IS. The IS is VERY impressive, I thought it was a sales gimmick (I am new to Canon SLR technology). One side note on IS - I am a lazy bum and with IS I might try to shoot without a tripod (even if I really need one) where if I did not have IS, I would have no choice, and would have the tripod with me.

I want a 70-200 lens (and 1.4x converter), and am so impressed with IS that you know which one I want! I have already bought (after reading this forum) the timer remote control. I need a decent tripod soon. I am looking at the Bogen 3001bpro - heavy but I can fit the beast on my back pack somewhere. The aurora shots convinced me I need a wide angle lens - the shots I got turned out very nicely by the way, just limited view (not that much noise and nice little star trails). I need a second CF card - although CDS and other users have convinced me I need another 512M and portable storage, so the 4g CF card has been scratched from the list (whew!). I may also go along with CDS (I think it was CDS) on the Sigma 70-200/2.8, since I will have a good tripod by then. The 70-200 is in the tenative budget for next year, I will make that decision then (sigma vs canonL). Since I just Thursday decided I absolutely positively need a wide angle lens, I will soon be scouring posts for info on that also.

Photoshop CS is on my list. I am using BB (and think it is a good deal) for raw conversion but unless I read otherwise, I think I want to convert in Photoshop also.

Oh, I like the Canon i860 printer. I have only printed on 4x6 cards so far but it prints a 4x6 in approx 65 seconds. I have no idea how this compares to other printers. They look as good as anything I have seen anywhere (I am in this as a hobby, not professional).

With regard to the x-drive, I think I will get one without a hard drive. My laptop has 30G and I needed a good excuse to get a larger one for it anyway.

I am finding I like shooting most of the time with the daylight wb (of course I can change it during conversion). I think the default of shooting possible without CF is strange and I have changed that setting as I am not compentent enough to make sure I have not left the CF in the card reader (DOH!). I wish the remote had a larger display, with multiple lines so that I could see the remaining count down of shots, etc. I wish the remote had a slightly longer cord. I wish that the extension did not cost $75 - I will make my own extension, thank you very much (I have read on that here also). I may want to try to construction some sort of long distance wireless remote (once I have made the extension cable and have something to plug it in to). I bought a protector filter for the 28-135 but decided I like it better without. I bought the lens hood (man that is a good profit margin for somebody), and like it. I was surprised that immediately after I bought the 10d that a little brother came out for much cheaper (DOH!). I have decided after scowering posts that I would not have been that happy with the little brother (double anti DOH!). etc... etc... etc.

So, finally, if there is anyone left reading this....
Thanks for all the info.
The very 10dly happy, but substantially poorer, Tom Hill.

[defordphoto]

thill wrote:
The very 10dly happy, but substantially poorer, Tom Hill.



Welcome to the club, Tom. Most of us share the 'substantially poorer', but happy state you find yourself in. I see the forum has served you well and you have taken the time to learn and experiment. Thanks for sharing those experiences!! Great post.

But now, where's the pictures? I live in Washington State and feel cheated as we didn't see the aurora way up here and you got it in Kentucky? Man, that's just not right!! :)

[tarves57]

Hi Tom,

I love my 10D too! Still a very new user and I loved reading the enthusiasm in your posting.
Now just a point from your message about IS - I believe you're not supposed to use IS when you are taking photos with a tripod, but you probably know this anyway.

Have fun,
Susan

[DonCoon]

thill wrote:
Photoshop CS is on my list. I am using BB (and think it is a good deal) for raw conversion but unless I read otherwise, I think I want to convert in Photoshop also.


Two suggestions, if you haven't done them already:

1) Install the PS Elements 2 that came with your 10D. Anything you learn using it will transfer to PS CS if and when you buy it. It will solve most of your viewing and manipulating challenges including unsharp mask while viewing the image at 100%. One caveat: PS 2 doesn't include a RAW image converter.

2) Down load the free IrfanView SW from:
http://www.irfanview.com/
In addition to being a great viewer, it includes a surprising amount of editing features -- and did I say it's free? PS- it also allows you to view RAW images.

Glad to hear how well you love your 10D!

[danphoto1]

Welcom to the word of Always is never enough. take a look at Sigma 12-24 mm new wide angle. here is the link http://www.sigmaphoto.com/Html/12-24.htm. it might suite your needs. I still think that Canon 16-13 is your best bet.


DAn

[geoff@rio]

Thill,

Another happy new user here also in the U K, although I have only had my 10D for a couple of days I have had other EOS bodies and lens for many years. It's a great camera and already am plotting what to sell to increase the digital potential. I think my Sony DSC 717 will soon be traded in towards the price of a better L type zoom lens or a much bigger capacity compact flash card. After that will really have to stop spending for a while to allow pocketwallet to heal over!

[Canuck]

Hi all,
This makes me laugh on some levels, kinda like growing up, you gotta laught at the younger years. I have been dabbling on and off and finally said sod it and got a real lens, a Sigma 120-300 F2.8 EX and wow, night and day difference just by going with a quality lens! Now I have had some fun with the Canon 16-35 L lens and wow! It rocks! You might have a look at the "Don't buy L glass!!" thread. It is rather amusing! Must refinance something...need more L glass is the gist of that thread. Have a look. I too am in the UK. I had no clue about the Auroura, such things can be hard to catch here as it is either cloudy or raining at night. I'm not sure where geoff@rio is, but I recon he can vouch for the weather over here. I've been in the UK for 2+ years. Please don't get me wrong, I really love it over here! I poke fun at wherever I am, it's just a matter of how I say it. Heck I even poke fun of where I am from in the US, that it there will still be snow on the ground in August! The other bit I say about back home is -30 is only a little chilly, only starting to get cold. I used to be able to hack it to -50. Then the job sent me to Tucson, Arizona and that sucked! I hope I never see that miserable state ever again! Then it was on to over here in England and I would stay here if I could afford it. The exchange rate was almost $1.80/ 1 pound last week! England's economy gets better and the US economy falters. Go figure!

Cheers from England,
Canuck

[NILOLIGIST]

Hi,

I am a Canon-aholic and proud of it. Yes, I am broke, tired and want more L-glass. No, I am not in rehab for my addiction because it is FUN.

10D is a wonderful camera. Now, I am waiting with great anticipation as to what is coming next. I sure hope it comes out soon because I want it the day it hits the stores. It will be my second camera body.

So anyone else here is a Canon-aholic? Be proud and stand up.

NiL,

[Belmondo]

niloligist wrote:
So anyone else here is a Canon-aholic? Be proud and stand up.

NiL,

Hello. My name is Tom. I'm a Canon-aholic.
Even worse, I'm a Canon 'L'-caholic.
I abuse my credit card.

Someone please help me.

[Motorsports Photo]

I'm proud of thill. He did some comparisons and analyzing instead of posting snother thread proclaiming

10D SHARPNESS SUCKS!

:)

-Pete

[openspace]

Amen to Pete. Welcome Tom.