Sony A7x lounge

David Arbogast wrote in post #18039278
Nice. What old tutorials?

What he said

And what functions within color Efex do you use?

David Arbogast wrote in post #18039278
Nice. What old tutorials?

David, here is an example of a good one. The host Dan Hughes worked for Nik. I think he moved on to MacPhun now. He breaks down the filters and offers recommendations on how best to apply them. The videos are long and some parts are rudimentary if you are familiar with the application but still worth watching.

genesimmons wrote in post #18039251
took the rok tilt shift out last night. this is the elementary school i went to as a kid. i still don't know the basics of when to use tilt or shift. using this scene as an example would any one care to share some pointers on what i could go back to improve on? thanx in advance . this was a compressed Facebook version the original jpeg is over 10mb i think.

Hosted photo: posted by genesimmons in
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forum: Sony Digital Cameras

tilt for added DOF, shift for tall buildings. Keep your camera super level while shifting, that will keep the verticals.... vertical

xpfloyd wrote in post #18039281
What he said

And what functions within color Efex do you use?

Thanks Eddie and David.

I'm partial to Pro Contrast, Brillance/Warmth, Darken/Lighten, Reflector, minor use of Glamour Glow, and limited use of Detail Extractor. I'm using more and more controls points along with masking within PS CC. Selective use of Bleach Bypass is also a good one.

Oh also Skylight is awesome

joonrhee wrote in post #18039259
I hear ya Charlie.. I was feeling a little odd when price went from 899 to 999, but just bought it anyways.. Never expected it to hike to 1099. Just wait until they drop the price, but do try it out once at least. It is really really wide and fun!

Speaking of SY14, I think this is another lens I'm waiting to hear about.

I've got the 12 so I'm almost there, and I'm ok if I only end up with 14. My samyang is nearly perfect, except for the 6 blade aperture, which is horrific, and the weight/size. A smaller one with electronic info, more blades, I would gladly settle for. From 10-14mm, I can definitely make due with just one lens, as of now, I carry the CV 12 at times, and Rok 14 when size is less of an issue.

I'm covered for now, have been for the longest time, so I'm not going to stress it. Same with the batis 25, kinda still want it, but the OM 24 super legit and small, rok 24 super legit and big.... Again, not going to stress it. I need to test out the 70-300 more, to see if I should keep it or not.

digital_AM wrote in post #18039283
David, here is an example of a good one. The host Dan Hughes worked for Nik. I think he moved on to MacPhun now. He breaks down the filters and offers recommendations on how best to apply them. The videos are long and some parts are rudimentary if you are familiar with the application but still worth watching.

I'm only 15 mins I'm so far but have learned a ton! I never use the control points but will start to now. Thanks for posting

xpfloyd wrote in post #18039294
I'm only 15 mins I'm so far but have learned a ton! I never use the control points but will start to now. Thanks for posting

No problem. Don't forget there is an opacity slider when you expand the filter on the right. Very useful. Also, you can hold the SHIFT key and then select a new filter on the left without overwriting the current filter. Or you can simply hit "Add a filter" but sometimes I forget to do that so using the shift key is very nice.

One tip for the Detail Extractor filter is to zero out everything and then select Large under Radius. Works very well without the Detail Extractor being over the top.

Here is another quality video. Btw, I love the Cuban car shot in the video from Rick Sammon.

I like the feature where I can save "recipes" using multiple filters in CEP4 to use on similar photos. Don't forget to check out the installed "recipes" too. Some/most are way over the top but they can give you an idea of what's possible using more than one filter at a time. I've also found that the order the filters are stacked can make a big difference too. You can change the stack order like you can layers in PS...just left click on the filter you want to move and drag up or down.

I have been editing a lot of my KC photos over the last several days and I'm getting a weird unexpected thought popping in my head as I do so: I'm just not loving the 35L II as much as I had hoped I would. It's a super-sharp lens, but lacks any pop at all. In fact, unlike my Otus 55, it never "Wow!"s me. Makes me want to sell it and go a different direction, but I'm not sure what that direction would be. Ideas are: FE 35mm (much better bokeh), Sigma 35mm (affordable excellence), Batis 25, etc. Any suggestions?

xpfloyd wrote in post #18039270
Instead of tilting the camera up to get everything in the frame (which it looks like you have done here) set the camera perfectly level using a hot shoe bubble and then shift up to get the full building in the frame. That way you will have perfect verticals.

Tilt is a whole other kettle of fish though and relates to changing the focal plane

ok thanx for the info,your totally right i aimed the lens way up to do this shot,ok ill go back with the tips from here,thanx,any preference of f-stop ? or does that depend on how much building and foreground i want in focus,should i try f5.6 first and go from there? i only bought the tilt shift because it was on warehouse deals and to good a deal haha,wish i knew how to use it correctly

xpfloyd wrote in post #18039271
I'll check it out. To be honest I wrote it off without checking previously as I assumed it would be poor IQ as it was cheap

Edit - just realised its not cheap. It's actually exactly the same price as the voigtlander fe15

theres a user with a a7 using the that lens and his images are stellar,ill try and find his posts

David Arbogast wrote in post #18039355
I have been editing a lot of my KC photos over the last several days and I'm getting a weird unexpected thought popping in my head as I do so: I'm just not loving the 35L II as much as I had hoped I would. It's a super-sharp lens, but lacks any pop at all. In fact, unlike my Otus 55, it never "Wow!"s me. Makes me want to sell it and go a different direction, but I'm not sure what that direction would be. Ideas are: FE 35mm (much better bokeh), Sigma 35mm (affordable excellence), Batis 25, etc. Any suggestions?

I love how you're constantly tweaking your bag, loving something one minute then changing your mind, etc... I can totally relate!!! One day I'm in love with a piece of gear, then a little nagging voice says "but wait, is it really that great?" It can be hard on your bank account, but how else do you grow? My vote for you would be to try the FE 35. Mainly because that's one that I keep being tempted by, and I'd love to hear your take on it.

Also, just curious, are all these KC shots for VisitKC? I've licensed some Jazz related images to them (they approached me about it - was one of those pleasant surprise sort of things)

David Arbogast wrote in post #18039355
I have been editing a lot of my KC photos over the last several days and I'm getting a weird unexpected thought popping in my head as I do so: I'm just not loving the 35L II as much as I had hoped I would. It's a super-sharp lens, but lacks any pop at all. In fact, unlike my Otus 55, it never "Wow!"s me. Makes me want to sell it and go a different direction, but I'm not sure what that direction would be. Ideas are: FE 35mm (much better bokeh), Sigma 35mm (affordable excellence), Batis 25, etc. Any suggestions?

That's a shame about the 35L II. I would try out the FE 35 first. I'm curious to see how it performs.

bpaulette wrote in post #18039424
I love how you're constantly tweaking your bag, loving something one minute then changing your mind, etc... I can totally relate!!! One day I'm in love with a piece of gear, then a little nagging voice says "but wait, is it really that great?" It can be hard on your bank account, but how else do you grow? My vote for you would be to try the FE 35. Mainly because that's one that I keep being tempted by, and I'd love to hear your take on it.

Also, just curious, are all these KC shots for VisitKC? I've licensed some Jazz related images to them (they approached me about it - was one of those pleasant surprise sort of things)

You know what happened? The Sigma 20mm happened. I had just got it specifically for my KC trip and it really wowed me. And, of course, the Otus 55mm wows me. By comparison the 35L II shots just don't have the same pop to them.

The 35L II is technically awesome - stunningly sharp and superbly well-corrected, but I'm just not seeing the wow in the images as I would prefer.

I had tried the FE 35mm last year and thought it did produce "wow" images, but my copy was defective and it had to be returned. Definitely will consider trying it again if I decide to sell the 35L II.