TSR PhotoSoc (and post your gear thread)

Original post by dhr90

Both. Always both :wink:

As above, both is always the best choice :colone:

but yeah, I'm seriously enamoured by Sigma's Art series right now.

Ultimately yes, it's more of a question of 'Which one first?' :wink:

Only thing I don't like about the Art series is how massive they are - as a Pentax user I'm used to tiny prime lenses.

Mh, I was originally under the impression that the 18-35 ART is FF ready like the 35 ART. But yes, modern APS-C sensors are really quite capable and unless we use the best of the best, lenses are more likely to be the bottleneck for image quality than the sensor.

Reply 23

Scott1541

12

Not sure if I've posted here before or not, and I can't be bothered to search so I'll post my current gear anyway :tongue:

This time last year all I had was a Nikon Coolpix P5100 (which I still have), not quite sure how I've managed to acquire all this within a year on a student budget.

Main gear:

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Nikon D5100

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Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 OS HSM

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Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 HSM

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Nikon 35mm f/1.8

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Nikon 50mm f/1.8 Series E

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Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6 VR

Other stuff:

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Fujica ST605N

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Nikon F60

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Hama Compact Traveller Pro tripod

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Nikon SB-300

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Yongnuo 560-II

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Various other accessories like a battery grip, filters, cables, etc..

Reply 24

My new Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 pancake lens got delivered today. Turns out Amazon do deliveries on Sundays which is interesting in itself.

Nice lens though, it feels well built which is one of the reasons I chose it over the 50mm f/1.8 lens. I've not had a huge opportunity to test it yet but I got some nice portraits of the dog with it and will take it outside when it's a bit darker. It's not going to be starry tonight but I'll see what I can do anyway. I'm hoping for some nice low noise long exposure shots. There is vignetting at high apertures but it's not terrible and apparently there is a way of correcting it with the Canon software.

Reply 25

In the light of my recent flare up in LBA (lens buying addiction) it's always nice to be reminded that great pictures can be taken with the crappiest of equipment :biggrin:

[video="youtube;DGexTWdyrrI"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGexTWdyrrI&list=UUuw8B6Uv0cMWtV5vbNpeH_A[/video]

Reply 26

dhr90

Original post by Sir Fox

In the light of my recent flare up in LBA (lens buying addiction) it's always nice to be reminded that great pictures can be taken with the crappiest of equipment :biggrin:

[video="youtube;DGexTWdyrrI"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGexTWdyrrI&list=UUuw8B6Uv0cMWtV5vbNpeH_A[/video]

Ah LBA, a truly terrible affliction to have. It also goes by the name of G.A.S (Gear Acquisition Syndrome). I'm suffering from it severely myself. I've discovered I will be earning almost £400 extra next month than I thought, so my GAS troubles will be tortuous. New lens? New camera? New accessories? New laptop for editing? Argh!!

I love their challenge videos, I think the Barbie doll camera is the best I've seen. Would love to have a try at the strobe lighting setup for ultra fast flash times. Sadly money doesn't allow for this :frown:

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 27

username612415

OP

21

Original post by Manitude

My new Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 pancake lens got delivered today. Turns out Amazon do deliveries on Sundays which is interesting in itself.

Nice lens though, it feels well built which is one of the reasons I chose it over the 50mm f/1.8 lens. I've not had a huge opportunity to test it yet but I got some nice portraits of the dog with it and will take it outside when it's a bit darker. It's not going to be starry tonight but I'll see what I can do anyway. I'm hoping for some nice low noise long exposure shots. There is vignetting at high apertures but it's not terrible and apparently there is a way of correcting it with the Canon software.

Yeah they started about a month ago :yep:

What body do you use? Can't say I noticed any vignetting when I had my 40mm and it rarely left my camera :holmes:

Original post by Sir Fox

In the light of my recent flare up in LBA (lens buying addiction) it's always nice to be reminded that great pictures can be taken with the crappiest of equipment :biggrin:

[video="youtube;DGexTWdyrrI"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGexTWdyrrI&list=UUuw8B6Uv0cMWtV5vbNpeH_A[/video]

Yeah it's always a nice reality check to see awesome shots taken on rubbish setups!

Original post by dhr90

Ah LBA, a truly terrible affliction to have. It also goes by the name of G.A.S (Gear Acquisition Syndrome). I'm suffering from it severely myself. I've discovered I will be earning almost £400 extra next month than I thought, so my GAS troubles will be tortuous. New lens? New camera? New accessories? New laptop for editing? Argh!!

Such a terrible predicament :ahee:

It's relatively mild for me at the moment, I'm surprisingly ok with pushing back the 70D purchase to after Christmas when I'd usually be clamouring for it once I'd got myself set on a purchase!

Reply 28

guitaristemily

8

am i like the only person who uses a nikon? i use a d3100, and its awesome. currently saving up for another lens, becuase i only have a 18-35mm lens that came with it. hopefully ill have the money for it soon.

the bag, is a small one. again, i need to get another.

Reply 29

Scott1541

12

I have G.A.S too :rolleyes:

It's almost gone at the minute though because I only got the 17-50 a few weeks ago, and there's nothing else I've got my eye on.

Original post by guitaristemily

am i like the only person who uses a nikon? i use a d3100, and its awesome. currently saving up for another lens, becuase i only have a 18-35mm lens that came with it. hopefully ill have the money for it soon.

the bag, is a small one. again, i need to get another.

No, no you are not :tongue:

Actually, thinking about it I could do with a new bag as well. My friend has a nice one that looks just like a billingham.

Reply 30

guitaristemily

8

Original post by Scott1541

No, no you are not :tongue:

Actually, thinking about it I could do with a new bag as well. My friend has a nice one that looks just like a billingham.

After I get another lens(This lens) and bag(this bag is next on my list - hopefully doing a course at college next year and ill need my camera and my current one hurts my shoulder when I have it on for too long.(like more than like 2 hours)

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 31

Scott1541

12

Original post by guitaristemily

After I get another lens(This lens) and bag(this bag is next on my list - hopefully doing a course at college next year and ill need my camera and my current one hurts my shoulder when I have it on for too long.(like more than like 2 hours)

Yeah, that lens is supposed to be pretty decent. Never used one but I hear good things about them.

Also a bag like that will probably be better for me actually. My current one only holds a body with lens mounted and another lens, or a couple of smaller lenses stacked on top of each other. It would be nice to carry more gear without having to resort to using a normal rucksack like I do now.

Reply 32

guitaristemily

8

Original post by Scott1541

Yeah, that lens is supposed to be pretty decent. Never used one but I hear good things about them.

Also a bag like that will probably be better for me actually. My current one only holds a body with lens mounted and another lens, or a couple of smaller lenses stacked on top of each other. It would be nice to carry more gear without having to resort to using a normal rucksack like I do now.

i currently use a really small nikon lens. when i travel places i bring my camrea, spare cards, the charger, a spare battery, the works.

i really need a bigger bag becuase in short, its a bit tight right now.

also ill be traveling loads next year - hopefully in september i start a photography course and in july im going to orlando(also going in 4 weeks)

the bag, ifi get to money, is frist on my list, the lens second.

Reply 33

I'm using a Canon 600D. The vignetting is only noticeable at low f-stops and I think long exposures make the effect stronger. Anything above about f/4 or f/5 and I can't really distinguish it on the screen. Maybe on my laptop but it's still marginal.

Reply 34

Original post by Manitude

I'm using a Canon 600D. The vignetting is only noticeable at low f-stops and I think long exposures make the effect stronger. Anything above about f/4 or f/5 and I can't really distinguish it on the screen. Maybe on my laptop but it's still marginal.

As long as it's not too strong LR will take care of it anyway.

Reply 35

Original post by Sir Fox

As long as it's not too strong LR will take care of it anyway.

It's not that too. I understand that the Canon software I have has a tool to correct it, although I've not transferred any new photos to my laptop in weeks so I haven't had a play with it yet. I'll probably upload some later tonight and see how they look on a bigger screen, will try to post a couple on here to demonstrate the vignetting.

The main problem I've had with the lens so far is that it's fixed 40mm and I'd prefer something a bit wider for astrophotography. I think I might play with stitching multiple images together like a panorama to get around that but it could be tricky to make sure I cover all the sky that I want without any gaps. I've also looked at getting a fractional zoom attachment (e.g. this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Neewer-0-45x-Angle-Canon-Rebel/dp/B003M55YLU) but they don't seem to give great image quality unless you pay a huge amount of money.

Reply 36

Original post by Manitude

... and I'd prefer something a bit wider for astrophotography. I think I might play with stitching multiple images together like a panorama to get around that but it could be tricky to make sure I cover all the sky that I want without any gaps.

I'd imagine that to be a lot of work - at least twice the amount of stacking :eek:

Yeah, for astro something more wide-angle would allow you to use longer shutter speeds.

Reply 37

Original post by Sir Fox

I'd imagine that to be a lot of work - at least twice the amount of stacking :eek:

Yeah, for astro something more wide-angle would allow you to use longer shutter speeds.

I can only get away with about 10 seconds and not get noticeable star trails when I zoom in, double that if I'm just looking at the full image on screen. I'm thinking of building a manually operated rotating mount to adjust for the earth's rotation, apparently they don't require a huge amount of effort to use and cost <£10 to buy the equipment and adjusting it only ever few seconds gets really good long exposures. If it works I'd probably motorise it and control it with a raspberry pi to get even better results.

So far I've not tried this new lens with stacking, on f/2.8 and 6-10 second exposures at ISO 800 I'm getting some really nice clear photos. The main problem tonight was thin clouds that I couldn't see with my own eyes but were visible on the photos and obscuring stars, also they were reflecting light from street lights miles away. Although I live in the middle of nowhere it's only ~10 miles to Liverpool!

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 38

Original post by Manitude

So far I've not tried this new lens with stacking, on f/2.8 and 6-10 second exposures at ISO 800 I'm getting some really nice clear photos. The main problem tonight was thin clouds that I couldn't see with my own eyes but were visible on the photos and obscuring stars, also they were reflecting light from street lights miles away. Although I live in the middle of nowhere it's only ~10 miles to Liverpool!

You should definitely show us some of your results some time!

I was in the Cairngorms with my university's Mountaineering Club last Sunday and my group got kinda lost in a valley after dark. Sleet and wind in our face, knuckle deep in a swamp, no idea where we were, but above us the band of the milky way as bright as I'd never seen it before. Have to take my tripod on the next full-weekend trip :smile:

Reply 39

dhr90