What kind of photographer are you?

[Burgess]

That is NOT the IS version !


Just the *wonderful* (plain) non-IS version.


Have one of these beauties myself, and I absolutely LOVE this lens !


:thumbsup:

 

[Echo63]

AHA! But can you tell if it's the newer IS version or not?

Actually I can't, there isn't enough resolution to count the switches.
I'm guessing it's the Non IS version though (going by what I can see)

 

[csshih]

you guys are great (non IS, yep)
...except it's a 7D body.

I win!

Craig

 

[Echo63]

you guys are great (non IS, yep)
...except it's a 7D body.

I win!

Craig

I knew it wasn't a 1d or xxxd body
The 5d and 7d look close enough to the XXD range to be very hard to pick (the strap is normally the giveaway)

 

[EV_007]

I'm between number one and two. Not quite a photographer, but not rich enough to have top shelf gear. I'd like to be both someday. LOL

 

[Terai]

Although it may sound wierd, I'm probably a mix between a 2 and a 5. I enjoy looking at other expensive gear but only has a Nikon F2AS with the only Nikkor 135mm f/3.5 AI. Yes, I still shoot film ><

 

[Nyx]

Just joined the forum as I'm starting to do night photography and need to learn all about lighting. Lance Keimig's approach in his book 'Night Photography' is the closest to what I want to do. Coastal and rural scenes, and anything different. I just love the idea of playing with darkness and light.

I think I'm a 'gear hound' meets 'artist'. I've been an 'artist' (whatever that means) for years, but now love DSLR, though I only buy what's best for my needs, and haven't been able to stop doing/learning about/ reading about/ talking about and dreaming about photography since I started a couple of years ago. I used to have other interests and other loves. Now it's just me and my gear out there in the most people-free places I can find.

I'm female, retired early, and finally free to please only myself and spend every waking hour doing something photography-related. I have no goal except to share what I do with friends or give it away. Making money for anything other than food, bills and rent has always complicated life too much, so I've never bothered. Prefer a simple life. True amateur. Do things purely for love

It's been good to see such wonderful night photography on the forum. I need to learn those skills very badly. This morning's first attempts at taking static star photos was less than successful. How can I focus on the dratted things if I can't see them? . Still, that's not for this forum. Just needed to vent

 

[JacobJones]

Not all leica owners are like that, my photography teacher was loaded, he owned several vintage leicas and let students borrow them.

Think I'm number one, my cheap canon powershot takes good enough images for me so I'll stick with it. To be honest I'm quite impressed with it, I was bought up on extremely cheap film cameras that were barely a step up from disposables, anythings an improvement over that.

 

[tel0004]

The only camera I own is my 5 mp camera on my cell phone. The pictures are good enough, so I have no reason to use anything else. Why carry a camera when I have a cell phone on me.

 

[EV_007]

Night photography is challenging. Lots of fun though. For the stars, try to set your camera on manual focus if it has it and set to infinity. Or pre-focus on a far away streetlamp then recompose to the sky and shoot if possible.

 

[will]

Night photography is challenging. Lots of fun though. For the stars, try to set your camera on manual focus if it has it and set to infinity. Or pre-focus on a far away streetlamp then recompose to the sky and shoot if possible.

If you are using a digital camera, check to see if there is a setting for 'Long Exposure'. This will reduce that amount of noise in the resulting picture.

 

[Nyx]

Night photography is challenging. Lots of fun though. For the stars, try to set your camera on manual focus if it has it and set to infinity. Or pre-focus on a far away streetlamp then recompose to the sky and shoot if possible.

I like a challenge and am learning fast, and you're right about it being fun, but unless there's a good moon it's inky-black around here so I need a stronger light source to get me to locations safely. But nothing like being out there the first time, seeing a great potential shot, and looking down that viewfinder.....at nothing at all

Auto focus and me never agree on things, to I don't use it. I work manually for everything but WB as I shoot RAW, and am finally getting comfortable with all the buttons, but focusing at night really is the hardest thing for me right now.

We're a bit short on streetlamps, though I can sometimes see distant lights from a neighbouring country. However, I will use your technique the next time I'm out and use lighthouse or buoy lights for the same purpose. I'll let you know how it goes in a new thread

Thank you for your advice. Very much appreciated. Really enjoyed looking a your 'Beamshots' thread too

 

[Nyx]

If you are using a digital camera, check to see if there is a setting for 'Long Exposure'. This will reduce that amount of noise in the resulting picture.

I've got a 5D2 (bank loan will be paid off in 2017, seriously ). A friend recently advised me to turn on the 'noise reduction for long exposure' setting and it's making a big difference. I get a bit impatient waiting for the 'busy' sign to go and let me take another shot, but that's the only drawback.

Thanks for the good advice. I think it's a setting that most beginners, like myself, don't even think about enabling, and I had the camera a year before it was pointed out to me by someone who saw lots of noise on one of my ND filter daytime shots.

 

[PaulSR]

Night photography is challenging. Lots of fun though. For the stars, try to set your camera on manual focus if it has it and set to infinity. Or pre-focus on a far away streetlamp then recompose to the sky and shoot if possible.

You can use the moon to focus on as well, usually works well. Setting the camera to infinity is not always the best thing to do as it is NOT perfect.

 

[PaulSR]

I've got a 5D2 (bank loan will be paid off in 2017, seriously ). A friend recently advised me to turn on the 'noise reduction for long exposure' setting and it's making a big difference. I get a bit impatient waiting for the 'busy' sign to go and let me take another shot, but that's the only drawback.

Thanks for the good advice. I think it's a setting that most beginners, like myself, don't even think about enabling, and I had the camera a year before it was pointed out to me by someone who saw lots of noise on one of my ND filter daytime shots.

When you have that setting turned on, the camera takes a DARK frame that is just as long as the long exposure shot. So if you took a shot that was 2 minutes, the busy light will be on for 2 minutes exposing the dark frame. Then the camera removes anything that the dark frame has on it.

 

[Nyx]

You can use the moon to focus on as well, usually works well. Setting the camera to infinity is not always the best thing to do as it is NOT perfect.

Thanks for the tip. I've just started shooting the moon as well, and don't have a lot of trouble focusing on that, so I'll try it out next time the moon, the stars, and me are all out together

 

[Nyx]

When you have that setting turned on, the camera takes a DARK frame that is just as long as the long exposure shot. So if you took a shot that was 2 minutes, the busy light will be on for 2 minutes exposing the dark frame. Then the camera removes anything that the dark frame has on it.

I know exactly what it's doing, and I'm very grateful to it - wouldn't want it to rush a good job . I just get fed up standing around in the dark waiting for it to finish, especially if I've just finished a thirty minute exposure. I'm not the meditative type so I'm working on trying to find something to do to keep me occupied and help the time pass...

I've heard that once I get more skilled I won't have to rely on in-camera noise reduction for long exposures. But that's all in the future.

 

[PaulSR]

I know exactly what it's doing, and I'm very grateful to it - wouldn't want it to rush a good job . I just get fed up standing around in the dark waiting for it to finish, especially if I've just finished a thirty minute exposure. I'm not the meditative type so I'm working on trying to find something to do to keep me occupied and help the time pass...

I've heard that once I get more skilled I won't have to rely on in-camera noise reduction for long exposures. But that's all in the future.

I have the same camera that you have and I find that I don't need the noise reduction. The main thing you "may" have to deal with is hot pixels, but, they are easy to get rid of with photoshop. H have several night panoramas that turned out really great, taken from Glacier Point in Yosemite. Took them at night and it was cold, which helps with the hot pixels.

You can shoot a dark frame at a later date (taken in the same conditions) and use that in photoshop to remove the hot pixels as well.

You should look into "painting with light" as well, it's really fun and will go well with flashlights.

 

[fonaryk]

I have a Canon 7D,G9 and a Pentax Spotmatic. Not a gear head because one cannot keep up these days. Camera's are "old news" shortly after being launched.

I carry a beat up, 18 year old SLIK U 212,heavy as an anvil,tripod, some old but good glass and my camera bag has more duct tape than nylon showing.

Maybe a mix of purist and artist? Oh yeah, an Iphone 4 with the Hipstamatic App.. Lottsa fun.

 

[Erich1B]

I've heard that once I get more skilled I won't have to rely on in-camera noise reduction for long exposures.

That's not an accurate assumption. With long exposures, your dealing with "Dark Current Noise"

Dark current noise - http://www.photonics.com/Article.aspx?AID=44298

Heat Generated by the Sensor
The photons collected by the photosites on the sensor are converted to electrons.
The sensor generates heat.
The heat produces anomalous electrons.
The camera converts them into image data along with the electrons created by photons.
This noise is called dark noise or dark current noise.

Long Exposures - the heat produced by a sensor creates dark noise. The longer the exposure, the more heat is produced, creating more dark noise.