Random Thoughts... [Photographic Edition]

Labcoatguy said:
Old rangefinder lenses hold their value way better than manual-focus SLR lenses. I snagged a Pentax 50mm prime for $25 shipped, but I'm seeing Leica-mount Minoltas and Olympus Pen F lenses at over $150 at minimum.
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Prices on those old "half frame" Pen and Pen F-system lenses took a nice jump the day Olympus Launched the digital Pen.
 
marcos_eirik said:
Prices on those old "half frame" Pen and Pen F-system lenses took a nice jump the day Olympus Launched the digital Pen.
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I know, I have one, and that's why I'm looking at them. Old Russian lenses are still cheap, so I'm looking at those right now.
 
What are your guys' thoughts on the Gorillapod SLR-Zoom: http://joby.com/gorillapod/slrzoom/

Is it worth it, especially if you cant take a full on tripod with you?

My uncle and his family are coming from Maryland and they're headed to Wild Animal Park and the Zoo here in SD. If I follow them, I'm wondering if it's better for me to just hand-hold my zoom lens and take shots of the wildlife, or if I should invest in something like this as I'm sure they don't want me setting up my tripod everywhere they go.
 
Did you buy a 600mm f4? No, probably not. You don't need a tripod during the day unless you're in a rainforest.
 
Ramseus said:
Did you buy a 600mm f4? No, probably not. You don't need a tripod during the day unless you're in a rainforest.
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K thanks.
 
In any case I don't even know where you would stick a gorillapod at a zoo. If there's railings before the enclosures then those might work but would probably be uncomfortably low. For what it's worth, this was 1/125 at ISO 200, f/5.6, on an overcast day, and the enclosure has lots of trees and leaves and stuff. There's a bit of motion blur, but that's close enough to stopping both motion and shaky blur. (click for bigs)

 
That was exactly my original thought, it was to attach it to some railing somewhere. And secondly there are sort of rainforest-ish areas in the aviaries and whatnot of both WAP and the zoo. But I guess that's a bit too situational.

W/e. I may not even end up going so we'll see.
 
LP said:
That was exactly my original thought, it was to attach it to some railing somewhere.
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I'd say if there's a railing or something to attach a gorillapod to then you might as well lean the camera against it and you've almost achieved the same stability. You're also free to pan and move.
 
Got a Canon lens (50mm f/1.8) and Tripod (Velbon Sherpa) for Christmas. Chuffed and looking forward to trying it out soon.
 
epp_b said:
Kit lens has big ol' dust spec in it that's showing up in anything smaller than f/5.6 or so. It's not worth paying to have it cleaned, but I don't want to take it apart and risk ruining it either :|

https://pic.armedcats.net/e/ep/epp_b/2010/12/24/DSC_6327.jpg
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Removing the front element involves taking off the plastic cap on the end (the thing what has the writing on it, will pop off when you apply enough pressure to break the glue holding it on). Under that will be screws if you're lucky, some kind of tab things with holes that you need to rotate both at the same time if you're unlucky. If it's the latter then it would be a PITA to take off and quite possible to scratch up if you don't fashion a tool to the right size, or even if you do and slip up. The more you know.


My bruvver got me a gorillapod slr-zoom. It's quite rigid and solid, with 1300g of weight on it it's like a rock... with poseable legs. I don't know why people (if you can all internets gearfags people) are always bad mouthing gorillpods, maybe after a lot of heavy use and with a few kilos it might droop, but seems quite good to me. No more not being in vacation photos? :lol:

And I got this sexeh little thing. Mix'n'match finish ahoy! I wuv my mummy.
https://pic.armedcats.net/r/ra/ramseus/2010/12/25/IMG_2582.jpg

Now if only these clouds would finally go away.
 
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I have a rebel xt (350d) and I am looking to upgrade. 7d would be a stretch but most likely possible; other option is 60d. Am I crazy for thinking that 60d isnt worth it because i will want to upgrade from it in a few years so i might as well go 7d?? Or should i just save my $ and go 60d? Orrr do i keep my ancient rebel and get better glass (i have 18-55 is, 50 1.8, 55-250 is)? I do really want better high iso performance... Thoughts?
 
LeVeL said:
I have a rebel xt (350d) and I am looking to upgrade. 7d would be a stretch but most likely possible; other option is 60d. Am I crazy for thinking that 60d isnt worth it because i will want to upgrade from it in a few years so i might as well go 7d?? Or should i just save my $ and go 60d? Orrr do i keep my ancient rebel and get better glass (i have 18-55 is, 50 1.8, 55-250 is)? I do really want better high iso performance... Thoughts?
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That's what I thought and why I recently got a 7Dizzle (second hand, to soften the blow), but I mean image quality is identicle between them it's just that pretty much everything else is slightly better on a 7D unless you want a flippy screen because the fixed screen is pretty much awful for video/live view. One difference is the amount of external controls, the 60D has less in that regard so you have to resort to the quick menu (ie. using the rear LCD like a rebel) to change certain settings (albeit lesser used settings). It's just a bunch of little but (at least IMO) meaningful things like that. Also, I'm chuffed that it drives the AF motor on my 55-250 quite a bit faster than my ancient 300D does (either camera would, I'm just saying).
 
LeVeL said:
I have a rebel xt (350d) and I am looking to upgrade. 7d would be a stretch but most likely possible; other option is 60d. Am I crazy for thinking that 60d isnt worth it because i will want to upgrade from it in a few years so i might as well go 7d?? Or should i just save my $ and go 60d? Orrr do i keep my ancient rebel and get better glass (i have 18-55 is, 50 1.8, 55-250 is)? I do really want better high iso performance... Thoughts?
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This is not a serious suggestion, but it might be worth to think about it. I think body should be just good enough and the reast of the money should go on lenses, becasue that's where it matters and they don't depriciate that much. So, find a used 40D for less than $400 (that's a guess, here they're below 400 eur). You get about the same level of basic ergonomics as in 60D, so way bigger viewfinder than 350D and also much better controls and way better AF-system. Of course there's no video, resolution is only a small upgrade over 350D and noise levels are not as good as in modern bodies, but they're actually pretty good for such an old camera, atleast better than in 50D.

And then just spend all the money you save on nice lenses, and upgrade to 7D when they can be bought next to nothing! :)
 
I personally think the 7D is a better buy. It has an outstanding AF system, it has video if needed, high resolution, high throughput. It has everything you could ever really want, so it means its going to last a very long time, where as I think a 40D will still leave you a bit wanting.
 
Cold Fussion said:
I personally think the 7D is a better buy. It has an outstanding AF system, it has video if needed, high resolution, high throughput. It has everything you could ever really want, so it means its going to last a very long time, where as I think a 40D will still leave you a bit wanting.
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Yeah definately 7D is an epic camera, no doubt about it. My point was just to show that you can get pretty good glass for the $1000 you save by buying an old but okay body. But yeah, if you already have good enough lens(es) and enough, then the 7D would be pretty nice :)
 
I decided that it makes more sense to get two lenses, a new bag, a nice tripod, a good cleaning kit, etc for the price of a new body. Which brings me to the Vivitar 7mm f/3.5 fisheye lens and the Bower 8mm f/3.5 fisheye lens. Virtually identical lenses as far as I can tell. Anyone have any experience with either one?

edit: also, what do you think of this Slik U212 tripod?
 
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News back from Nikon on the D90 repair: not good. They're having to order a buttload of parts and it's going to be another 3 weeks until I have it back :(

Curse you, Nikon, with your wretched combination of unbeatable ergonomics and pathetic customer service... :\
 
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