The Photography/Camera thread

[Josh | NFC]

That's got to be a challenge to use on the go and without autofocus.

Samyang is picking up momentum, they have a 14mm f/2.8 with autofocus for the Sony E-mount scheduled for september, I'm hoping the price is OK.

Sony's focus peaking is amazing...I've been using it since the NEX7 over autofocus because I can nail focus with ultra fast apertures for critical moments. Autofocus has been really great at low light on the Canikons for a while, but it never was smart enough to get eyes in focus over a nose. New tech with eye focus is pretty good and my a6300 seems to get it, but for paid work where for some reason flash isn't allowed then I use FP.

Unfortunately no other manufacturer has it down yet. Focus peaking on the GH4 is not great, its worthless on the Fujis (or hacked Canons) and most external monitors I've used it's not worth it and the same goes for Olympus. Weirdly enough it's not as good on Sony full frame (A7iis tested) as APSC.

I'm also interested in Samyang's AF lenses. I really do like their glass. It is well built, super sharp, and inexpensive...but I don't like the rendering on most of them...something about the colors. Most of them have a strong magenta cast and I don't like how they render yellows. The exception is the 8mm 2.8 which has nice blues to offset the magentas--here is an admittedly a bad picture but a good example (unaltered colors

and the 35 1.4 which has actually alot of flaring which messes with the contrast in a really positive way...I like how it renders and I really like that lens alot. Here is a shot with unaltered colors:

I think I like the look better than some of the technically superior 35s I've used. An example of Rokinon rendering:

 

[Phuncz]

I never used focus peaking, but it seems to be a good fit for me so I'm going to be using it for a while and see if it allows me to work without AF on the lens.

 

[IntoxicatedPuma]

I end up using focus peaking alot if i am shooting in dark conditions because MF is more reliable than the E-M1s AF in low light conditions. I used the 25mm last night and it was good but the shallow field meant it was more difficult to get shots. I started taking bursts while slowly sweeping the focus. That helps a bit but always means one or two ends up out of focus.

 

[veryrarium]

Most were taken with the E-M1, but the 3rd one (on the mountain) was taken with a Canon 100D + Sigma 18-35mm Art.

Are these two JPEG photos already compressed by your camera, compressed on your PC from RAW, or recompressed from JPEG? I see fairly strong mosquito noise (not haloes/ringing) in both photos.

 

[IntoxicatedPuma]

Dont remember. I probably had the ISO up around 800 to get a fast shutter speed for that picture though. Im guessing it was converted in Lightroom but not positive.

 

[IntoxicatedPuma]

If it helps the 2nd one probably had alot of actual mosquitos in it!

 

[Phuncz]

Finally a new lens that seems to be a good allround lens for my usage.

First picture:

100% crop:

I love the bokeh and the sharpness is very good, even at F.2.8.

 

[IntoxicatedPuma]

I got my girlfriend the Zhongyi 25mm f/0.95 for her E-M10 - she is very happy with the results so far. The lens has lots of technical issues but it's still a fun lens.

 

[Phuncz]

Direct link: http://i.imgur.com/YPbHU94.jpg

In full resolution, hand-shot with Sony 30mm F3.5 macro lens, took me a few shots though. This little critter was almost an inch in length, apparently pretty big on the scale.

 

[IntoxicatedPuma]

With a 30mm is it hard to get shots like that? I'm wanting to get a macro lens for my em1 and was thinking about either a 60mm Olympus or 30mm Panasonic.

 

[Phuncz]

Yeah it is, because you have to get right in there, I think there were only a few centimeters between the lens and the spider. So getting an 80mm or greater focal distance macro lens definitely has benefits for achieving the same thing from a larger distance. But they are also more expensive. Another downside to small focal distance macro lenses like mine is that they can often cast a shadow or just plainly won't let you near the stuff you want to photograph when it's obstructed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macro_photography

 

[onlyabloke]

Viewbug hit me up for an interview about this photo for a blog post, so that's kind of exciting. Don't know if my photo was selected or not since the official post hasn't been released yet, but just having the chance is a step up from what I've had in the past!

Even Dams Will Fade by Darrick Snyder, on Flickr​

 

[onlyabloke]

Found a bunch of RAW photos I thought I lost! Looks like I'll be doing some editing

Little Bit of Stance by Darrick Snyder, on Flickr​

 

[IntoxicatedPuma]

XiaoYi just released a new MFT camera.......20MP Sensor (same as Pen-F and GX8??) with a 50MP Hi-Res mode (like Pen-F).

Best part is under $500 USD. 3,000 rmb includes a 14-42mm kit lens and a 42.5mm f/1.8 (with macro ability) lens. Seems like a great bargain if it doesn't suck!

 

[LocoMoto]

May I ask for some basic lense advice in this thread? O:

 

[Phuncz]

Sure !

 

[LocoMoto]

Lovely!

Now I posses no DSLR experience but I have decided to try and find a Nikon D5300 or D5500 next month.
I have a basic understanding of how most of the features work but do not have the experience to know what lenses I should look for to cover what I'd like to shoot!

I will shoot a lot of products in the home electronics and clothing category but also motorcycles and the odd car or two... heck, even a portrait could happen if the same lenses would be usable for that as well!

What focal lengths should I look for and what f-stops might be suitable for such photography?
Also, are there any easy ways to know how much a lens would or wouldn't distort the subject... Except reviews?

Thanks!

 

[Phuncz]

Focal length: atleast 50mm (compensate for crop factor), but preferred >80mm for portrait and product photography, because with wide-angle lenses (like 28mm), objects and people distort:

The aperture or sometimes called the "speed" of a lens can be used for various end-goals too: having a low f-value or small aperture means that it can take a lot of light in and it allows a higher shutter speed for when there is a limited amount of light. A small aperture will also shorten the range what's in focus.

The focal length is usually a range, but often only the "maximum" (wide open) aperture or the lowest f-value is mentioned. Most lenses can go high as f/16 or f/22, but it's that maximum aperture that costs more usually.

So ideally you'd want a 50-200mm lens with f/1.4, but those don't exist as far as I know in a single lens. So either go with a few primes like a 50mm f/1.4 and a 85 or 100mm f/2.8 , or you could go for a single zoom (70-200mm f/2.8) or multiple smaller range zooms (28-75mm f/2.8 and 70-300mm f/4.5).

Searching for images, I found this guide, scanned it over and it seems to have some solid tips for product photography: http://www.webretailer.com/lean-commerce/ecommerce-product-photography/

 

[LocoMoto]

Quite the extensive answer for the lens advice, do appreciate it and will surely be of use to many!

Seems like 50mm f/1.8 & 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6 should be decent for two lenses to get started with then, easy enough to find and looks as if it should let me get used to the platform, any thoughts?

 

[Phuncz]

I don't have any experience with those on Nikon, but these should be easy to find at a good price, especially second-hand.