Kiwi - GKPE - General Ramblings (4)

Thanks every1 for your opinions and advice

This is new and cool.
http://www.photography​tv.tv/

akiwi wrote in post #5113437
This is new and cool.
http://www.photography​tv.tv/

I'm actually fed up of watching people being rewarded for shocking DIY by having their houses transformed for them or yet another cooking show!! There are more things out there as hobbies. I sent a script to Southland/Mercury/Cue TV about the same thing, hoping they would make a photography show. They said my proposal was just what they wanted but they couldn't sell it. I hope this type of thing takes off.

OMG OMG OMG!
I have a story to tell.

Remember I mentioned that my laptop was overheating. I searched the Internet and there was a post that a bios update should fix the problem.
So I went on to the Toshiba web page and found the latest bios etc.
I read the instructions on installing. It said I should download the files. Extract them. This would create 3 directories which I should burn on a CD. In the directories is a PDF file with update instructions.
So I downloaded the files. Unzipped them, & there was no directory created, only an EXE file which was zipped.
So I double clicked on that & WHammo A program started running with a B.F.Message! "Your bios is being updated. Do NOT interrupt this process!!!"
I wasn't ready for that. Hadn't done a backup or anything. Anyway it took about 10 minutes. At one stage my wife came into the room and looked at me & asked if I was OK as I looked pale & was sweating!
Anyway. It ran till the end. Computer automatically powered down... and didn't re-start. So I pressed the power button , which powered it down, then it restarted & promptly come with a big error message "Hardware change or something" I had the option to try a Normal XP start, so I tried it. My heart had been pumping away at about 120 for nearly 15 minutes by now, but the XP now proceeded to start normally!

Phew! What a relief.
I didn't try re-booting again.

Raikyn wrote in post #5113310
Does screw with people a bit if you forget to change it for them

Guess the benefit is it completely seperates exposure and focus. I like it when you get the focus you're after, release the button and then the focus is effectively locked at that point. You can then do whatever you want and the focus won't change.
When using in AI Servo it basically becomes one shot and ai servo in one, just release the button to lock focus.

At least you're up with the play! It appears the others don't actually look around the wider forum and pick up useful tips like this one.

I've had the focus moved away from the shutter button since I had the 400D, as soon as I got the 40D I set the AF-On button (as opposed to the * button) to focus. AF-On used for initiating focus, * used for FEL and half shutter used for exposure lock - complete control, a must if your subjects are moving around at all. A whole lot less critical if you're doing landscapes tho...

akiwi wrote in post #5114453
OMG OMG OMG!
I have a story to tell.

Remember I mentioned that my laptop was overheating. ...but the XP now proceeded to start normally!

Phew! What a relief.
I didn't try re-booting again.

Geez, usually any software that's going to reflash something tends to give you some pretty good warnings BEFORE it starts making a mess... Fun for you!

Sancho wrote in post #5113289
Which one is that? Hard to tell from the pics, its either the one on the c ouch in which case its a siamese/burmese i think or trhe middle one, in which cae its a bengal. I have ALWAYS wanted a bengal.

Its the spotty one The Bengal...

The black one is 1/2 burmese though - very good

akiwi wrote in post #5113188
I haven't tried that yet.
Do you only use the focus button then to pre focus.
What if you forget?
I have a model shoot tonight. Maybe I'll try it. I'm just so used to 1/2 press.. recompose that I am scared I will mess things up.

akiwi wrote in post #5113250
I use the * quite often for exposure lock.
I also let other people take pictures with my camera quite often. This would mess that up.

ok here's what i learned by reading an 800+ post thread yesterday

- CFn 4-1 moves focus to the * and keeps AE on the shutter, so you can focus, recompose, half-press/hold shutter to meter, recompose again if required, (or focus now if you need to - without affecting anything else) and then shoot (you lose FE lock with this function set)

- CFn 4-3 moves focus to * but AE is done at the moment of shooting so this is more useful for moving subjects in variable light (shutter half-press does nothing) (again you lose FE lock ability)

in both modes, if you change shooting mode to AI-servo, you can hold down * to continually focus while shooting, or press & release to simulate one-shot mode while having the option to instantly use it as AI-servo if required

BUT basically the 40D has a different config of custom functions to the older models which even down to the 350D all share a similar config for CFn-4

- the equivalent to CFn 4-1 on a 40D is CFn IV-1-3 (except instead of *, the AF-ON button is used, so you retain FE-lock ability)

- the equivalent to CFn 4-3 on a 40D is CFn IV-1-2 (again AF-ON button is used for focusing, & etc)

there is also a function which switches the functions of the AF-ON button with the * button - handy if you use a grip with the 40D which as far as i could gather doesn't HAVE an AF-ON button

i thought i would forget to use it but honestly it was so obvious that my shot was not yet focused that it was completely natural to press with my thumb (since it was already right next to the AF-ON button anyhow) that i didnt mess up a single shot (took about 20 of the baby and a few of other stuff). was comfortable in portrait and landscape too.

Sancho wrote in post #5113289
Which one is that? Hard to tell from the pics, its either the one on the c ouch in which case its a siamese/burmese i think or trhe middle one, in which cae its a bengal. I have ALWAYS wanted a bengal.

siamese are characterised by having pale bodies and coloured points & mask (when they get old their bodies darken but they are still lighter than their points & mask)

akiwi wrote in post #5114453
OMG OMG OMG!
I have a story to tell.
Remember I mentioned that my laptop was overheating. I searched the Internet and there was a post that a bios update should fix the problem.
So I went on to the Toshiba web page and found the latest bios etc.
I read the instructions on installing. It said I should download the files. Extract them. This would create 3 directories which I should burn on a CD. In the directories is a PDF file with update instructions.
So I downloaded the files. Unzipped them, & there was no directory created, only an EXE file which was zipped.
So I double clicked on that & WHammo A program started running with a B.F.Message! "Your bios is being updated. Do NOT interrupt this process!!!"
I wasn't ready for that. Hadn't done a backup or anything. Anyway it took about 10 minutes. At one stage my wife came into the room and looked at me & asked if I was OK as I looked pale & was sweating!
Anyway. It ran till the end. Computer automatically powered down... and didn't re-start. So I pressed the power button , which powered it down, then it restarted & promptly come with a big error message "Hardware change or something" I had the option to try a Normal XP start, so I tried it. My heart had been pumping away at about 120 for nearly 15 minutes by now, but the XP now proceeded to start normally!
Phew! What a relief.
I didn't try re-booting again.

OMG OMG OMG does this mean you can never shut it down again? scary stuff alright... but did it fix the temrperature problem?

akiwi wrote in post #5113437
This is new and cool.
http://www.photography​tv.tv/

Awesome. bookmarks.

cool there talking about different ways of high key lighting.

And if you enable CFn IV-2 you can swap the * button with the AF-ON button - so you have some model consistency.

I did it so the 5D and the 40D have the same 'feel' when I pick them up and start shooting.

Gah! Man I hate unreliable people!!!! I got up especially at 7.30 this morning (when I was looking forward to sleeping in for once!) because someone was supposed to be coming to pick up a monitor at 8am, which we confirmed last night....

It is now 9am and they are STILL not here.......... I'll be really pi$$ed if they dont turn up at all!!

lil_miss wrote in post #5115907
Gah! Man I hate unreliable people!!!! I got up especially at 7.30 this morning (when I was looking forward to sleeping in for once!) because someone was supposed to be coming to pick up a monitor at 8am, which we confirmed last night....

It is now 9am and they are STILL not here.......... I'll be really pi$$ed if they dont turn up at all!!

I totally hate unreliability.

The stupid thing is - they told me they finished work just around the corner at 7.30am - so it wasnt a special trip... useless.!

I used to have to remind my wife - if we say we will be somewhere at a certain time - we will be there at that time (barring accidents or other uncontrollable events).

She is used to this pet peeve of mine now and starts getting prepared well ahead of time

I just think it is rude to say you'll be somewhere and not turn up - or turn up late.

We have a kid who still needs to learn the lesson - the number of times he has upset his mother by saying he will come visit her and never turning up. I also hate seeing her get upset over it.

My wife was told 5min late for her wedding day. If I hd to wait longer than 5min I was out of there.

Been on time is good manners.