Since our last thread got all fudged up, I figured I'd make a new thread for now until whenever Some (of many) shots from earlier today:
Borman, really like the first shot - nice to see the world that the Bee is foraging in. Great stuff! Here are a few random shots from earlier this year: Star trails by the water (fisheye photo): and star trails in a field (another fisheye photo): A wolf spider I found on my front steps... this guy is less than an inch long: Here's a muskrat, in its glory (surrounded by cattail reeds, its favourite food): An old tractor in a forest of maple trees - the forest is harvested for maple syrup: How about a real-life, near-microscopic snoflake? Well, here you go: Enjoy!
Some crappy macro shots I have taken this week. Got a proper macro lens coming in the post, so expect some (hopefully) better ones soon.
tachicoma, those are good actually! i have been finally testing my new 50mm f1.8 canon objective... here are some results of a walk to a near mountain: lake taken from tripod a portrait of my wife taken at f1.8 8notice the shallow dof) This picture is taken at one of the objective's crispest F-stop Lastly another long exposure tripod photo. the lens costed only 90$! i think that it's an incredible quality for such low prices... your toughts?
I love the fast 50's. I've got the Canon 50mm F/1.4 myself, it costs a bit more but man is it smooth. sharper at F/1.8 or F/2 than the cheaper lens is, which is a huge plus. Everyone with a DSLR should have a fast 50mm lens. They rock.
I almost bought an EF 50mm f/1.0L on ebay last week but my internet connection was lagging at the very last second and the lens sold for a mere £400. AARGH, I was so mad at myself and to cheer myself up I bought the f/1.4 too. Great lens, haven't had time to shoot much with it yet though.
Depends on your budget, for cheap and cheerful get a Nikon D40x (sells for a pittance second hand), for an all singing and all dancing SLR for not much more get the Pentax K-x (has movie mode, cheaper lenses, picture quality is great in low light)
I have one. Great camera you can get fairly cheap these days (I think they go €200-€250ish nowadays). It's a body from the semi-pro range from Canon and feels really solid (it has a magnesium body instead of a plastic body like the 350D/400D/etc.). Will post some pictures later when I have time (studying for exams now).
The F/1.0L isn't all that great - really slow focusing and very soft around the edges, far softer than the F/1.4 or F/1.2L. It was replaced by the 1.2, so that'd be the one to go for if you have bottomless pockets I have a good macro setup: two lenses (Canon EF 100mm F/2.8 Macro USM, Canon MP-E 65mm F/2.8 1x-5x Macro Photo)and a Canon MR-14EX Ring Flash. Really loving the 65mm lens... you *NEED* the flash with it, but that's the lens I used to take snowflake photos... pure joy. The 20D is a little older (4-5 years old) but still performs well. It doesn't have a high resolution sensor, and doesn't do well in low light, but the quality of the images is great. Though, you'd be better off to look at a newer model, like a Canon Digital Rebel XSi, T1i or T2i (450D, 500D, or 550D model names in Europe). The T1i and T2i do video as well. A Nikon D5000 or Pentax K-x would be decent too - but I'm a Canon guy personally. And don't forget your 50mm F/1.8 lens!
I know it isn't all that great as I've read quite a lot of reviews, but it would've been a steal at that price. For now I'm perfectly happy with my f/1.4, also quite a bit lighter than the f/1.2 or f/1.0 which are basically massive chunks of glass. I love the fisheye shots at night you did by the way. The fisheye and the star trails give me a feeling of being sucked up in a black hole. Amazing!
I just got a NIkon 50mm 1.8 lens for my bday from my GF. Great lens and cheap too like all the others.
Speaking of the F/1.0L: A few years ago, the camera store I worked at got. From some hobo-looking dude who was trying to pawn it. We checked the serial number with the police and it wasn't yet stolen, and even left them with that info in case it got reported at a later date. We told the hobo guy all we could give him was the money in the register, which was like 100 bucks or something. I got to play with it. It was soft, but it could also do this (below v) in basically darkness. This room, (a warehouse) had a single 60w bulb in a cheap lamp off on the side and that was it, except for a bit of fading light from the doorway. Anyways. Since my DSLR was boosted and I haven't been able to afford a replacement, I've been shooting film with my Elan IIe (which is a bit of an ugly motherfucker... being half black and half silver). I've got a roll I really need to get scanned in but haven't had the chance. Here's a few randoms, all shot with the outrageously-cheap Tokina 19-35... (I drug it out of the trash at work and re-soldered and attached the mount to it. Heh!) Boy it shows. Haha! Hand held at F/3.5 in an already dark room is just... impossible. With that old 400 speed film. and whoever decided to put red f'ing lights over that area should be spanked.
