Things to do while waiting for the UPS guy..

Jon wrote in post #6979389
I think they're only delivering "Next Day" on Friday as well . . .

Well I got the inside scoop on my package from a friend/UPS driver that I was drinking beer with on New Year's Eve.

My package should have been delivered Wednesday since it was second day air. For whatever reason it never made it on the truck. I just checked the tracking and it says "out for delivery" so I should get it today.

Hey OP....have anymore pictures from your new 40d?

Jon wrote in post #6979389
I think they're only delivering "Next Day" on Friday as well . . .

Hope not...mine's out for delivery, and it wasn't next day. I'm anxiously awaiting my 5D. Maybe they know how anxious we are for these particular packages?!?!?!

DoodleBunz wrote in post #6987906
Maybe they know how anxious we are for these particular packages?!?!?!

I doubt it. What seems like the most precious thing we have purchased is just another box to be delivered to them. My UPS guy probably has 200 stops today.

My wife said my package just arrived Looks like I will be taking an early lunch today!

Yup more pics... I'm really having a hard time with focus points. It seems to be alot easier to get bokeh with this camera, but with the shots I've fired off so far, a lot of times I'm missing my focus point.. for example.. the second picture of my cat.... pretty cool bokeh.. but where the heck is the focus point because her eyes are NOT in focus.. I was shooting at 1.8 so I do have a really thin DOF but I can't figure out what is in focus. Actually nevermind. I see I shot this at 1/30th of a second at iso 400... 50mm 1.8.

Ok so the first picture.. 1/125 iso 800 f 1.8 50mm 1.8

HOSTED PHOTO
please log in to view hosted photos in full size.

HOSTED PHOTO
please log in to view hosted photos in full size.

Here's one more from new years..
1/250 F8 iso 200... still soft for me.. but maybe I had too many glasses of wine at that point haha

HOSTED PHOTO
please log in to view hosted photos in full size.

Hey Heather,

You called it, on the second cat pict. Looks like motion blur.

The first shot looks good. Lots of detail, and the eye looks like the focus point. I applied a little smart sharpen (87% @ .6 pixels), and it looks very sharp around the eye. So, I don't see a problem with that shot. How sharp is your 50 1.8 at f/1.8?

The shot of you looks good too. Plenty sharp and detailed, I'd need a 100% crop to tell for sure. At f/8 looks like everything is in focus, so can't judge the focus accuracy on this shot anyway.

If you search on 40d and sharp, you'll find a handful of threads. Apparently the 40d has a pretty heavy AA filter, and requires a bit more sharpening than other bodies. Nothing I ever noticed, because I generally don't pay attention to the numbers when I sharpen. I always sharpen to taste, and have no idea if it took more sharpening than my XTi or 1d.

Here's the 1st Cat pic, with the sharpening I mentioned.
Edit: Just noticed this was ISO 800 as well. Wow, that's plenty sharp. I had no idea the 50 1.8 was that sharp, wide open. My 50 1.4 certainly isn't.

HOSTED PHOTO
please log in to view hosted photos in full size.

Wow really? Maybe you should get the 50mm 1.8 and trade me your 1.4 haha I love shooting wide open on my 50mm 1.8, though some people don't like that. How are you sharpening? I recently discovered using the high pass filter for this..

heathermarie wrote in post #6995545
Wow really? Maybe you should get the 50mm 1.8 and trade me your 1.4 haha I love shooting wide open on my 50mm 1.8, though some people don't like that. How are you sharpening? I recently discovered using the high pass filter for this..

haha. I'll keep my 1.4, but thanks<g>. I like shooting wide open too. That's why I have so many primes Not to help you spend money, but if you try a 35L or 24L on that 40d, you may never touch your 50.

I just did a simple smart sharpen on the entire photo above. I've tried other methods, and none seemed worth the extra effort. So, I stick with Smart Sharpen. Usually I create a layer, sharpen to taste, and mask off the things I don't want sharpened(like the OOF background since sharpening emphasizes noise). Sometimes Eyes get an extra layer.... Basically I do selective sharpening, nothing fancy.

edit: You made me pull out my 50 1.4. I haven't used it in probably a year, because I was never thrilled with the results. Not as bad as I remember. It is soft at 1.4, but this shot at f/1.8 isn't bad.

HOSTED PHOTO
please log in to view hosted photos in full size.

Meow!! haha.. I bet it's like 70 degrees in florida.. no fair.. it's like 20 degrees here I was going to go shoot some kids at the ice rink but the coldness outweighs the fun..

I'm already planning my next purchase lol.. the 24-70 l...... but whats your opnions on the sigmas tamrons etc comparable lengths? worth the price difference?

Here's another picture with my 55-250 from last night of a friend who came over to help me drink a bottle of chianti :P

HOSTED PHOTO
please log in to view hosted photos in full size.

Yea, 70 something. Kinda boring, 70 and sunny every freakin day! I was out running around earlier today, and I couldn't find any ice skaters, or even a rink.

I've only had a couple non-Canon lenses, at Tamron 18-200 and my Tokina 10-17. The Tamron was just fine, especially considering the zoom range, build quality was so-so. The Tokina is a better built lens, and nice and sharp(for a fish eye). So, my off-brand experience is very limited.

I had a 24-70 L(my first L). Wasn't my favorite, mostly because I didn't find the range too handy(XTi at the time). IQ was excellent(a tad soft wide open), it just wasn't my thing. Sold it here, bought some primes and never looked back. Lots of people love the 24-70, so it works for them. I've read the Sigma is also a very good lens, but you should poke around the lens forum.

Every time I poke around the lens forum I change my mind on what I want.. I should just buy everything and call it good. Then maybe I'll be happy haha

This should be called "What should you do while you are waiting for J&R to ship you order via UPS."