-= T2i / 550D users UNITE! (1) =-

Rivest wrote in post #11315398
This can sound disturbing from a non-photographer view point

Haha. So true. I need to choose my words carefully.

Well, tonight's shoot was completely ruined on multiple accounts. I switched to the kit lens thinking the wider angle would be better. Problem is I missed the hyperfocal point and the stars weren't in great focus. I hate this lens. Second, I didn't realize until after I was done shooting that I left the lens at 24 instead of 18mm. and on top of that, some high and thin clouds drifted in about 30 minutes into a 2.5 hour shoot ruining any chance for decent star trails.

The only good news is that the battery was still showing full charge after 290 consecutive 30 second exposures at below freezing temps. I know that little icon may not be all that accurate, but I'm now confident I can do about 4 hours with this battery.

Oh well, now it's time to go through each of the 290 shots individually and check for anything interesting like a meteor or something.

^^ Sounds like a pain. Good luck.

You could try a composite of three shots, foreground, background and sky. It's no startrails, but better than nothing

EDIT: I truly hope you are using an intervallometer. Otherwise it's the heck of a job for you!

Rivest wrote in post #11315624
^^ Sounds like a pain. Good luck.

You could try a composite of three shots, foreground, background and sky. It's no startrails, but better than nothing

EDIT: I truly hope you are using an intervallometer. Otherwise it's the heck of a job for you!

Haha, well I'm using a remote shutter switch. So, I set the camera to continuous shot mode at 30" each and I can lock the shutter button that way and step away for a few hours and let it do its thing.

But this one really isn't salvageable since I shot up at the north star to catch the complete circular motion and didn't include any foreground. Oh well. There will be better days.

wolfy317 wrote in post #11315210
Hardcore, you still loving that zeiss?

Ya, I did a sharpness test today
The zeiss is every bit as sharp as my tamron 60mm macro both at f3.5. Pretty amazing for such an old lens. Of course, the bokeh on the zeiss is in a different league.

I must say, these little m42 lenses are hard to beat if you don't need autofocus. Can't wait to try out some landscapes with it. Also going to fart around with creating a lens profile for adobe lightroom for it.

RafaPolit wrote in post #11315238
Hey!!! Congratulations Wolfy!!! those are great news! Did you finally go with a new one or a used one? How old is it if used? Hope you had a great deal out of it... if you don't mind me asking, how much was it? I believe price vs. performance and quality... the 70-200 f4 is really, really hard to beat!, specially when used.

I really have 0 regrets about buying the lens (as Al foretold) and its now fully payed, so I am really happy not to have a long term debt from it.

But, this part: "...I'll get to play with it tomorrow" is really disturbing! Turn on your lights, take out a tripod and try it tonight!!!!

Congrats again, eagerly awaiting pictures,
Rafa.

Couldn't think of much, but I figured I'd take a pic of my F4L with my 85, and a pic of my 85 with my F4L.

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Hardcore wrote in post #11315699
Ya, I did a sharpness test today
The zeiss is every bit as sharp as my tamron 60mm macro both at f3.5. Pretty amazing for such an old lens. Of course, the bokeh on the zeiss is in a different league.

I must say, these little m42 lenses are hard to beat if you don't need autofocus. Can't wait to try out some landscapes with it. Also going to fart around with creating a lens profile for adobe lightroom for it.

I'm looking forward to getting mine. I think this is gonna make an excellent portrait lens. I ended up ordering an adapter with AF confirmation from here in the U.S. I figured it couldn't hurt to have a little help with the MF haha

Hardcore and Wolfie: I'm dying to see some shots with the new 135mm. All I can say is: "Tempt Me!" Seems really cool
BTW, I went to a "temple celebration" here in Taiwan. I assumed it would be dull and small. Boy was I wrong! These pics are just a sample. Technically it was way over my head (all night shooting with hundreds of naked bulbs (and a couple of naked non-bulbs!) and lots of smoke. I only have one true low-light lens, the nifty. In spite of my incompetence, it acquitted itself quite well, I think.

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Another T2i shot..

Al, those are some nice shots there! The first one is absolutely shocking... it almost seems as you have cloned the same motif a thousand times but accounted for perspective, DOF, and variation! Great shot.

Now, I may be missing something, how is a 'temple celebration' done outdoors, with anime type neon lights and anime type presenters? I may have misunderstood what a 'temple' is under this situation! .

What happened to your little girl? Is she sick or recovering from illness? Hope everything is good with your loved ones.

Rafa.

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RafaPolit wrote in post #11316041
Al, those are some nice shots there! The first one is absolutely shocking... it almost seems as you have cloned the same motif a thousand times but accounted for perspective, DOF, and variation! Great shot.

Now, I may be missing something, how is a 'temple celebration' done outdoors, with anime type neon lights and anime type presenters? I may have misunderstood what a 'temple' is under this situation! .

What happened to your little girl? Is she sick or recovering from illness? Hope everything is good with your loved ones.

Rafa.

Thanks Rafa!
First, no funny business with those rows of tables. Just rows and rows and rows all piled with food, drink, sculptures, wine, all kinds of stuff. All I had to do was point and shoot.
Second, the religion here is a "folk religion" based on ancestor worship. (There is Buddhism and some Christianity, but clearly that is not what this is (the food is offerings for gods/ghosts). Strippers and pole dancing, well, I guess the ancestors get bored out in the great void or wherever they are.
Finally, the mask, no she isn't sick, thanks. They are big on those in Asia for all sorts of things. There was a lot of smoke here cuz of the incense and fireworks. It's cool weather, and she has coughed a bit lately. Anyway, grandmother decided she should wear a mask, and I don't argue about little stuff like that (lots of other people were wearing them too. I hardly notice them anymore).
BTW, I think all of these were shot at 1.8. I'm pretty impressed the Nifty could pull in that kind of sharpness opened so wide. It continues tonight, and I'm going to see what I can do with the Tamron.

Mookalafalas wrote in post #11316099
...BTW, I think all of these were shot at 1.8. I'm pretty impressed the Nifty could pull in that kind of sharpness opened so wide.

Thanks a lot for all the info, glad to hear your girl is alright!

Lucky you with the 50mm... I had no such luck today... I had forgotten (haven't used it in a while) how slow the AF is, and, how unreliable, specially at 1.8. I needed more light, decided to turn off the flash, take out the 50mm... shots at 1.8 are near useless. Very nicely lit, for sure, but out of focus, and, as should be expected, the focus strip is so thin that a missed focus is a missed shot altogether.

Today was NOT a very good day on our photoshoot work. Yesterday we achieved some great shots and 2 fantastic shots! Today, 2 usable shots and not a singe fantastic one.

Thanks again,
Rafa.

RafaPolit wrote in post #11316138
Thanks a lot for all the info, glad to hear your girl is alright!

Lucky you with the 50mm... I had no such luck today... I had forgotten (haven't used it in a while) how slow the AF is, and, how unreliable, specially at 1.8. I needed more light, decided to turn off the flash, take out the 50mm... shots at 1.8 are near useless. Very nicely lit, for sure, but out of focus, and, as should be expected, the focus strip is so thin that a missed focus is a missed shot altogether.

Today was NOT a very good day on our photoshoot work. Yesterday we achieved some great shots and 2 fantastic shots! Today, 2 usable shots and not a singe fantastic one.

Thanks again,
Rafa.

Bummer...but I still envy you that you can shoot and get paid at the same time!
Yeah, the nifty can be crappy at focusing in dim light. I had that happen a couple of times at the "celebration" and switched it to MF and quickly shot and hoped for the best. A couple of times I couldn't even look! I needed a higher angle and just held it over my head and clicked and chimped to see if I was in the neighborhood or not.

Just got delivered my new t2i from US to Europe
Here are a few of my first shots: