New 550EX

[defordphoto]

Wow! Who needs the stinking manual? :) This was shot after inserting batteries and running the first test flash. Mounted flash on camera and took this shot.

Photos speak:

http://racefamily.racinglines.com/MiscPhotos/IMG_7129_640_480.JPG

[Belmondo]

Very nice, Jim. Who's the babe?

[nosquare2003]

It seems that the cat didn't like your new flash. You should have spent too much time on your new flash. Have you feed the cat?

[defordphoto]

That's Honda (a dude). He's a 5 year old Maine Coon. And an absolute sweetheart. He fetches. Comes when you call him, etc. We have three Maine Coons.

Two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree. ;)

[defordphoto]

nosquare2003 wrote:
It seems that the cat didn't like your new flash. You should have spent too much time on your new flash. Have you feed the cat?

That's his, "Oh good grief. He's got the camera again," look.

[defordphoto]

What I was most impressed with is that his eyes look awesome. This was shot with the omni-bounce attached and head straight at subject. This thing is awesome!

[nosquare2003]

RFMSports wrote:
nosquare2003 wrote:
It seems that the cat didn't like your new flash. You should have spent too much time on your new flash. Have you feed the cat?

That's his, "Oh good grief. He's got the camera again," look.

No, he said, "Let me play the camera".

Yeah, his eyes look awesome.

[KarlJones]

Honda is all keyed up about it, for sure. Enjoy the 550EX, Jim.

[defordphoto]

He usually does make a very good subject. He looks a bit annoyed for sure.

[Belmondo]

We have a Siamese perpetual motion machiine named 'Dollie.' I've yet to take a decent picture of her despite countless attempts to do so. She rarely sits still, and always interprets any attention paid to her as an invitiation to participate in mock combat.

If I ever do get her to 'pose' for me, it will be a memorable day. Hopefully I'll be able to capture her gorgeous, deep blue eyes.

We've always had cats, but this one is the most 'unique' we've ever owned. She's frustratingly entertaining and certainly the most 'people-oriented' cat we've ever seen. She loves to ride in the car, and has accompanied us on two round trips to New York and back, another to the Pacific Northwest, and countless trips to the Bay Area. Even as I write this, she's helping me straighten my desk by knocking everything on it onto the floor. Fortunately, the monitor is a little too heavy for her to move.

Congratulations on you new flash, Jim. BTW what kind of rechargeable batteries do you use?

Tom

[IanD]

Tom,
The secret to having a cat pose...............Velcro and Krazy Glue.
:)
Ian

[Belmondo]

Great idea. I send my thanks. Dollie says shey's gonna get you for this.

Merry Christmas, Ian.

Tom

[defordphoto]

Tom: Sounds like you'll have to capture her using AI Servo eh? :) She's been around for sure. More than us!!

They can be a pain to capture. 70-210 and shoot from around a corner. Seems though that everytime I grab the camera, they know it and I lose the candid shot. I have an awesome shot of Honda I'll have to post here when I get a chance to shrink it.

Right now I'm using rechargable alkalines, but I'll be ordering the quantum 1+ here very shortly. I shot tonight over at a friend's house for their Christmas Eve and all the shots turned out awesome.

And I still have yet to read the manual!

[Belmondo]

I have the 550EX, but I've only had it on the camera a couple times. I rarely take indoor pictures, but really need to explore using it for fill flash on some of the outdoor stuff.

You're right about the cats knowing when you're trying to take their picture. The real hard part for me is getting far enough away from her to use a lens like the 70-200. She just wants to be close to us, and any activity at all intrigues her. Unless she's asleep (which is almost never) she's moving, generally towards me.

I'll keep trying.

Tom

[Canuck]

RFMSports wrote:
That's Honda (a dude). He's a 5 year old Maine Coon. And an absolute sweetheart. He fetches. Comes when you call him, etc. We have three Maine Coons.

Two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree. ;)


Jim,
Is that cat a cat/dog mix? You say he fetches and comes when you call, or is that just special to that breed?

Wow, 2 turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree. I wouldn't expect anything less this time of year, especially from you!

Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays!

[defordphoto]

Maine Coons are pretty special cats. There are a few other breeds that have those same traits, but we also like the looks of the Maine Coons.

And they're big cats. Honda is about 19 lbs and about 40" from nose to tail, though it has been some time since we have measured him.

He's on the computer desk right now trying to get (he has it) my attention as he wants breakfast.

[FramerPDX]

That is a nice shot Jim...

I have the 420ex and I am wondering if I should upgrade to a 550ex what do you think...

I will post one of my chrismas pics here in just a few minutes after I shrink and up load it to pbase.. so I can link it here...

Merry Christmas everyone...


-Ty

[defordphoto]

Dunno Ty. I never considered the 420EX so I don't know the differences between the two. Maybe you should start a petition so Canon can give you a free firmware upgrade?

I can't post any of the pics I took last night as they are not my family, but I am super-impressed with this flash unit.

[AllenGC]

[quote]RFMSports wrote:
This was shot with the omni-bounce attached and head straight at subject.

Hello RFM,
lovely shot indeed, but at the risk of appearing stupid, could you tell me what the omni-bounce is please?

I have the 550ex, and it works incredibly well on my 10d, but not so well on my 1d.

Regards,

Allen.

[defordphoto]

The Sto-fen Omno bounce: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=details_accessories&A=details&Q=&sku=89908&is=REG

It's a opaque plastic diffuser that goes over the flash to distribute more even light, especially when shooting people.

Also check out Lumiquest diffusers too: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?A=search&Q=&b=215&shs=&ci=655&sortDrop=bs_asc&bl=&al=&pn=1&shs=&pn=1&ci=655&Submit.x=27&Submit.y=9

They take away the harshness that flashguns produce.

[Tomsk]

I just got a 550EX myself, but not had a chance to use it with my 300D yet.

My sister has a Maine Coon called Abigail (Abby's father was Frasier Crane!) but I don't think she is as big as Honda. Any chance of a picture of Honda with something to scale against (a Honda perhaps ;) )?

[defordphoto]

Tom-

I'll see what I can do a little later today. He's about 19lbs if I hadn't mentioned that yet. We had another Maine Coon named Abbey (I'm a big Beatles fan) but we had to put her to sleep because of a stomach tumor. That was not fun...

Anyway, I'll get another photo-for-size in a bit.

[defordphoto]

Here ya go. Not the best shot for sure, but he was not in the mood to be held like this. He's pretty big and heavy for Mary to handle.



http://racefamily.racinglines.com/MiscPhotos/IMG_7177m.JPG

[robertwgross]

Damn. Is that a cat or a mountain lion?

---Bob Gross---

[defordphoto]

LOL! It's amazing to watch people when they come over for the first time and see him. usually they stop in their tracks and say, "Whoah! That is a big cat." They feel better when they find out he's a gentle giant. He scares most people when they first see him. We had a cable service tech that refused to go up the stairs, where Honda was sitting, until I moved him. They were best buds by the time he left.

[timmyquest]

Jesus man...it's not even that he's big..he's just...LONG

[swblackwood]

Well, I bet my Maine Coon can beat up your Maine Coon. Although he probably couldn't take all three. His name is Zachary, 8 1/2 yrs old and weighs 20+ lbs (not fat!).

I used the Digital Rebel and the 550ex with the flash pointing up and the wide diffuser pulled out and pointing up also. This is good for catching light in the eyes so they sparkle a bit.




http://www.pbase.com/image/24555682.jpg

[Belmondo]

Jeez, Jim.

Do Sigfried and Roy know about that cat? (not that Roy's in any shape to do anything about it.)
I will say, though, that I really believe I can stretch my cat to at least an equal length. It's very unlikely she will be in one contiguous piece when I finish, but I'm sure it can be done.

[defordphoto]

LOL! He was not at all happy with Mary in that shot, Tom. Stretching you cat like that might bring you some jail time! ;)

Steven: Very nice looking cat! You need to update your sig to show your 300D. And you can delete those other posts by selecting edit and then delete to clean up the thread a bit.

[msnow]

Size does NOT matter. I tell myself that a thousand times a day.

[Tomsk]

That's a biiiiiig cat! :D
(iirc std door width is ~30 inches!)

[Belmondo]

The cat is normal-sized. Jim's wife is only a foot and a half tall.

:) Tom

[defordphoto]

belmondo wrote:
The cat is normal-sized. Jim's wife is only a foot and a half tall.

:) Tom

ROFLMAO!