What's everyone shooting with?

What type of ND grads did you get? ND grads are fantastic for landscapes. They can really bring a sky to life, insead of the usual over exposed scene.

Here's one of mide with a 0.6ND grad.

Kev

Got 0.3 and 0.6 I think, will prob be buying a few more as I get used to using them. Yeah I'm fed up of overexposed skies, no definition in the clouds, blown highlights etc, only getting to know more about filters and exposure now I suppose. Your pic is cool, maybe a bit too dark in the top right corner, but definitely you can see the improvement a filter makes...

nice shot kev ,what sort of filters are you using ,are they the conkin slide type that fit into the holder screwed into the front of the lens ? or the type screwed directly onto the lens ?
I've been thinking of getting the conkin style slide type to make it easier to line the sky line up with the graduated section of the filter .

I have the waterproof olympus 790sw camera havent tested it yet under water but it was alright in the cold had it in my jacket pocket when it was -15 and it was still able to take a few pictures. My phone was dead from the cold though.

I just got myself the Olympus 790sw also, I haven't had a chance to test it out properly yet but it seem like a great little camera. Other than that I have an old Olympus E-10 DSLR.

nice shot kev ,what sort of filters are you using ,are they the conkin slide type that fit into the holder screwed into the front of the lens ? or the type screwed directly onto the lens ?
I've been thinking of getting the conkin style slide type to make it easier to line the sky line up with the graduated section of the filter .

Cheers Ronald,
I would stay away from the Cokin ND grads. Have heard a few people say that some of the ND grads can give colour casts...
Get yourself the Cokin filter holder.. Should be Nice and cheap off ebay. You will also need to get a ring adaptor for the filter holder.
Then order a set of 85mm ND grads from http://www.formatt.co.uk These guys make really good ND grads. Totally neutral, no colour casts at all. I think they do a set of 3 for about £12

Thats should be plenty to get you started.

Kev

a buddy of mine is thinking of getting a Fuji S5700......... mainly for use at gigs and the likes............. any one used one?? any reviews??

You'll probably find a decent review here: http://www.dpreview.com
I get the impression that the Fuji is a few steps up from a compact but not at the DSLR level. Your buddy might struggle with zoom if he is using it at gigs. Would he need the facility of changing lenses?

he recons that he wont b using them. think this is more of an "i need a camera and il find a use for it later" purchase............ dont think there is anyone on this site that doesnt know what thats like.

il pass on the link to him. thanks Jim

jim,

just had a word wit my mate and he is curious as to y u think the camera mite not have enough zoom? the spec says its X10 so he thinks it should be ok. also wants to know if you mite recommend a suitable camera that would b good for low light situations eg gigs etc

Paul,
I wouldn’t be qualified to make a recommendation! The only thing I can say is that depending how far away the subject is the x10 zoom might not be good enough. Indoors at distance the inbuilt flash might not have the gumption so he may need an external flash (not sure if the Fuji can take an external flash). Low light is a tough situation for cameras (well, maybe not the camera but for a photographer like me!!). Fine if on a tripod or such but the slow shutter speeds if not using a flash can be a bitch if the camera is not steady. There are more experienced guys on here that could advise better.

the fuji is a good enough camera ,the only problem will be holding it steady at 10 x ,especially in a low light area ,though if he can get to the front row the flash should be powerful enough . I think that model will take an external flash which would be a big help .

thanks lads..... he seems pretty determined that this is the model he wants so il keep passing on the info......... alot of good info so far

Gigs would be very demanding on a camera, the main problem is the lighting will be bad (for photos). Need a camera with a very good lens that allows sufficient light in to keep the shutter speed from dropping too much so that the movement can be captured. Flash generally isn't allowed or is at least frowned upon!
I don't know about the camera mentioned but as its not a DSLR I'd imagine it would struggle.

Totally agree Jimbo. If he is looking to photograph gigs, he should be looking at a DSLR. To get a decent shutter speed and no flash you need to drop the ISO to about ISO 800 or perhaps ISO 1600. The Fuji will give savage amounts of noise (blurry pixels) at this ISO.

It's a bit more expensive, but my advice would be for a Nikon D80 with the 18-200mm VR lens. This setup will cost about €1200, but it saves buying a camera twice when he finds out that the Fuji is not up to the job.
The VR on this lens will be excellent for Zoomed shots in low light.

If that is looking a bit pricey, your buddy could shop for the above setup second hand. There are a lot of D80 and D200 users moving to the D300 so there seems to be a few about at the moment. The lens might be the issue, but buy a second hand Body and then purchase the lens. You should be able to save 200-300 yo yo's this way.

Kev

The other problem is - you won't get into a gig with a dSLR unless you have a photo/press pass! Compacts are allowed, but most promoters are pretty strict on SLRs, even a D50 to them is a pro camera..... I wish it was!

Never knew that Kev... I would have thought that the Fuji 5700 looked a bit like a DSLR as well, with that big zoom lens....

With that in mind, I would advise a Compact with a reputation for excellent pics at high ISO (800 - 1600). Not too many of them about, especially with a 10x zoom.

.What's everyone shooting with..

Nikon D 50
6.5 x 55 and
.17 mag :?

I have a canon 10D, sigma 18-50, 28-135 and a 100-400 for checking out others rigs/bait :wink:

[img]http://www.seanpalmer.hostinguk.com/other/sharksafari/0013_img_std.jpg[/img]

Only take that out on the boat on special occasions, usually take a compact, had a bad run last year with those, started off with bigcol drowning my a95 after the tide came up and took his ruck sack away, then I got a a630 dropped that one in the drink all by myself stumbling over a rough shore mark, it only got a little inside but it didn't last long before it died completely :cry:
just got a a650, gonna have to be damn careful with this one :o
Sean

Recently got a nikon d40 which I've begun to use on a regular basis now for college work, find it a v. nice camera to use. :D

Canon 400D only got it a few weeks ago :)

i use a fugi fine pix e500 4.1 mega pixel nice little camera not too expensive , about 300 euros i think