Picture of the Day

[Lestat]

Thanks

It's the inside of a special sewing machine.
What do you mean with processing? I only had the lamp of the sewing machine and the cam

Missing details:
Camera: Canon PS SX110
ISO: 80
Shutter: f 5,0
Exposure time: 1/20 s

you said you usually dont reqork the pictures but you like this lighttechnique, implying you did some postprocessing on the image.

[Xien16]

This picture was only cut out to get the right motive and then I put the contrast 10% higher
Normally I don't rework the pictures at all. This needs more time for taking the picture but you spare the time for reworking...

This ones were also taken directly from the cam

I just started yesterday with the lighttechnique and it does only work with some special pictures...
One of the first tries with LR 3:


(klick to enlarge )

through the dirty window
but I think the difference to the original (really bad) one is really big...

Camera: Canon PS SX110
ISO: 80
Shutter: f 2,8
Exposure time: 1/160 s

- Original one of this and the last picture:

[ridney]

elisha, can you give us some sort of tutorial?



7D, 55mm, F2.8, 1/200s, ISO 100

[Xien16]

That's what I also need Good idea

[agor]

Image input equipment model: Canon EOS 7D
Exposure time: 0.0125
F number: 1.4
ISO speed rating: 640
Flash: Metz 48 Bouncer
Lens: Sigma 50mm 1.4 EX DG HSM

I truly love this lens

[Elisha]

Agar very nice shot. Envious that you have the Sigmalux. I want one so bad. Was gonna order one on Monday from the U.S. Cause it is $225 cheaper than here but I am leaving on vacation tomorrow (Sunday) so I was afraid it was gonna get stuck on the border with customs and I won't get it in time.
I mounted one at the local store and that bad boy looked big and intimidating and felt right on the 7D.

[Elisha]

elisha, can you give us some sort of tutorial?

Tutorial on?

If you take portraits especially of women and children, and you have a sharp lens, chances are the skin will look too crisp.
So if you use LR, do a - Clarity. I normally do about -30 to -50.
And for contrast leave it at 0 - 15.
Then export to CS4 or similar and go to USM and start with Amount: 50%, Radius: 20 pixels.

You can play with Amount and Radius. Sometimes I only use 10 pixels especially for portraits.

This USM method is known as Local Contrast Enhancement so it will boost the contrast as well. It may also make dark eyes even darker.

[GTSRboy]

We're getting owned with snow all day today, should be 12"+ later today

[agor]

Agar very nice shot. Envious that you have the Sigmalux. I want one so bad. Was gonna order one on Monday from the U.S. Cause it is $225 cheaper than here but I am leaving on vacation tomorrow (Sunday) so I was afraid it was gonna get stuck on the border with customs and I won't get it in time.
I mounted one at the local store and that bad boy looked big and intimidating and felt right on the 7D.

Wow what the hell how much does it cost at your place? 400€ in Germany/Europe

[Elisha]

It's $699 here + 13% tax. But I found another place who has it for $625.
Anyway I convinced my wife I needed it so she's picking it up for me locally. I called the store and told them to hold one.
I'll have one in hand in a couple of hours hopefully.

[shazza]

Scary snowstorm, GTSRboy. Heard from a friend in Philadelphia today that they might see 25+ inches!

[1Tanker]

It's $699 here + 13% tax. But I found another place who has it for $625.
Anyway I convinced my wife I needed it so she's picking it up for me locally. I called the store and told them to hold one.
I'll have one in hand in a couple of hours hopefully.

Great portrait Elisha. **I hope i don't offend you, by saying this** but, she is very beautiful...very photogenic! In every picture you have of her(except one..she looks pissed ), she has a beautiful smile.

I buy from Henry's ..they price-match to stores in Ontario. So far, i find AdenCamera to have the best all-around prices, and Downtown Camera and Camera Canada are good too. Henry's are great to deal with..i hear that Aden sucks!! I'm sure you already know these things, but i'll post it anyways.

[Elisha]

Lol thanks.

My wife picked one up for me today after price matching with Downtown Camera for $625. I was working so when she got home I tested it and the flipping thing is soft till f/4. Even then it is still crappy. Micro Adjusting does not help. Just needs a proper AF calibration it seems.
I'm leaving to Cape Breton in the morning so I can't exchange where I bought. May have to stop in Kingston and exchange there if it is past 11am. If not Ottawa.

I'm not happy. Good thing I didn't get it from Adorama or B&H like I originally intended to.

[Lestat]

yup sounds like some backfocus or something....
defintely over the counter exchange...

but to be honest, even Agor's picture is soft for being 1.4

i am kind of glad i didnt spend the money on the sigma 50 or 30mm.... way too many of them, out of the box, are not working properly.
lots of people complaining around various forums of back/front focuing issues.

[1Tanker]

yup sounds like some backfocus or something....
defintely over the counter exchange...

but to be honest, even Agor's picture is soft for being 1.4

i am kind of glad i didnt spend the money on the sigma 50 or 30mm.... way too many of them, out of the box, are not working properly.
lots of people complaining around various forums of back/front focuing issues.

Same here...even though their prices and warranty are great..i worry about getting a Sigma...they do have a lot of back/front focus issues, as well as focus-speed and accuracy. I bought the Sigma TC..only because they didn't have the Tamron in stock, and i didn't wanna order online or go back(120km drive)to the store. So far, the TC is great...i'm very happy with it.

[Elisha]

At least his looks in focus. Mine just looks like crap.

[agor]

but to be honest, even Agor's picture is soft for being 1.4

You won't get supersharp images when taking pictures at apertures like 1.4.
This lens has a microadjust of -2 at my 7D and is perfectly in focus. Kinda lucky as I have not needed to exchange it or something.
It's also not very easy to take in-focus pictures with such big apertures. Calculated depth of field of this shot (60cm distance, F1.4, APS-C) is 9.241mm. Focus is on the eyelashes and eyebrows
Here's an example at ~50cm with F7.1
Slightly cropped, its very very sharp at 100% but I deleted the picture as I was just playing around with the external speedlight control. Light from the left w/ bouncer
Focus on the middle joystick IIRC
the bokeh progression is very nice on this lens IMO, way better than the canon counterpart (1.4)



mage input equipment model: Canon EOS 7D
Exposure time: 0.01
F number: 7.1
ISO speed rating: 200

[1Tanker]

I'm leaving to Cape Breton in the morning

Sweet..you'll be able to get so great pics there. I think they're gonna get lambasted by the storm..hope you're safe.

@ agor: Looks good...nice and sharp. One negative thing about that lens is the huge filter size..77mm filters aren't cheap.

More Donkey sillyness:




-Camera: Canon EOS Rebel XS(1000D)
-Exposure: 1/250
-Aperture: f/4.0
-Focal Length:138 mm
-ISO Speed: 100
-Exposure Bias: 0 EV
-Flash: Off, Did not fire
-Lens: Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM

[inCore]

Model = Nikon D90
Lens = Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 Macro HSM
Exposure Time = 1/50"
F Number = F4.5
ISO Speed Ratings = 1600
Exposure Bias Value = -0.67EV
Flash = Off
Focal Length = 70mm
White Balance = Auto white balance

[Lestat]

dang incore.... very nice...
it's shot likes that, that express what photography is all about.

Agor - (first let me say i was a little leary about posting my below comments as i did not want to pi$$ you off, but... i am not nitpicking your picture with regards to quality or anything, i like it, its a great shot, we are just having a further discussion of f-stop and the sigma lens focusing)

i completely agree with the bokeh evenness of those lenses. the same holds true for my Helios and Yashika 50mm lenses.
problem is, unless you softened that picture, the focal point being her eye lashes and eye brows, then something isnt right because those are not in focus (as much as i think they should be) and neither is the surrounding area.
I honestly cant tell what the focal point is based on what is focused and what is not. with the table below her face, her shoulder and the bridge of her nose being what appears to be more focused or less bokeh than any other area it looks like the focal point was not the eyebrow/lashes.

the bridge of her nose, see those hairs pop out, those are more sharp than your focal point. also the part in her hair, the fine single hard there seem more in focus.
you can also see the light reflected in her pupils is not focused.
Given your focal point, even at F/1.4 those reflections in her eyes should have almost been sharp as a tack. which is one reason why i asked if you softened the picture.

even her shoulder, given that it appears to be closer to the lens than her eye brows and lashes and not on an even plane leads me to believe the focal point was off.

again i am not nitpicking, just based off your statement of the focal point i thought "really, there? it doesn't look like it at all"

[agor]

i dont feel offended at all, i know how you meant that - so rest assured
the focus may be off to the front a bit which must be the result of the bad lighting and maybe her moving a bit as i needed one shot to capture this image (focus help from my metz48)
i used spot af on her upper eye, but it may have been a bit too high (eyelashes)... somehow i couldnt get to the idea of using live view, dont ask why but this may have been the better choice in this situation.

well then again i really like this shot and the bokeh

incore: what i really like in every of your shots is the special lighting in every one of them - really great

[Lestat]

ahhh you have a Metz,,, i been pondering ditching my Sigma 530DG flash for a Metz but wanted some personal opinions
i was actually looking at the Metz 45CL-4 (the one with the flash bracket/mount.
i wanted one of those types as i prefer the extra support it offers with the flash handle.

but overall, how doy ou like the metz flash and more importantly, how is its ETT-L and ETT-L II functionality?

[inCore]

Thanks Lestat and agor.

Here's today's picture, the view from the back of the house where I stay in Finland.



Model = Nikon D90
Lens = Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 Macro HSM
Exposure Time = 1/1000"
F Number = F8
ISO Speed Ratings = 200
Exposure Bias Value = -0.67EV
Flash = Off
Focal Length = 17mm
White Balance = Auto white balance

[1Tanker]

-Camera: Canon EOS Rebel XS(1000D)
-Exposure: 1/125
-Aperture: f/4.0
-Focal Length:200 mm
-ISO Speed: 100
-Exposure Bias: -1/3 EV
-Flash: Off, Did not fire
-Lens: Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM

[Jokester_wild]

Nice Incore, you finally got to see some winter!


1/50
F1.8
50mm
ISO200