Ben Cochran
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The real fantasy -<br> Digital Xpan.<br> Hello Hasselblad ?
That, my friend, would have to be one heck of a phone call! lol
Ben, if that Fuji were truly great it would ring my wife and convince her I needed it..lol
LOL Something tells me; it’s not that you stayed up all night dreaming on that fantasy but I bet you could not wait to wake up this morning to see if it had changed. LOL
Sorry Ben, but much appreciated. It’s part of what keeps this such a collegial board.
ZachNo problem at all, Zack. I would have deleted the post but discovered that I could only edit it. Yep, two things that should never be a topic of conversation, politics and Bagels… 🙂
Another mirror less worth looking at if feeling nostalgic is the Maymiya 6 rangefinder.
I thought they stopped manufacturing them? Nonetheless, thanks for reaching into my pockets, too. lol I have been toying with the idea of going back to film but I fear that I may be a bit to spoiled with the endless potential of digital files. Flash backs of walking on set with one bag full of rollies and another, empty, bag for all of the spent rolls. Just to walk off set with one full bag and one empty, inverted. Can you imagine, after shooting digital for so long, having to double that amount now? Scary thoughts… It is amazing how many useless shots are intentionally executed, just clowning around and having a bit of fun.
The thing that I don’t like about the Maymiya 6 is the fact that the meter only averages the scene. I have tested and verified that my Nikon reflective meters do, in fact, meter at 18% and my bodies all live on spot meter. This and the fact that I have verified, in manual mode only, the meter calibration works great and is fairly spot on; for a reflective meter. I measured a WB card at 36% grey and verified that the meter delivered it at one stop over 18%. For exposure stacking, in an attempt to stack exposures and capture dynamic detail in exposures that go beyond the cameras 6 2/3 limit, I think that I would really miss the histogram, as well. It is kind of a love hate relationship, missing the dark room while loving the portable computer. 🙂
Although I do admire your attempt to change the subject and spin it back on me, and my wallet… lol I feel a need to speak a bit more about the Fuji mirror less and reach back into your wallet. lol That camera was made for you David, it has David written all over it and you know, as well as I. When you saw that person carrying the system, with the handsome leather case, you know that you felt it should have been around your neck and in your hands, with you handsome leather carrying case… Hope that helps some… LOL
I may go back to some film, just not sure yet but it sure would be fun to spend some time in the darkroom again. That and dealing with the mystery of rather the shot was nailed or not…
This might hurt a bit but I am going to have to toss it at ya.. lol That Fuji is INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!! It has a fixed focal length, 35mm equivalent, and everything in that camera is calibrated to maximize the image quality at that focal length. The Dynamic Range is astonishing, the built in 2 stop ND filter works fantastic, the reflective meter is spot on, at 18%, and evaluates the scene with incredibly accuracy. The camera is built to drop your jaw with every shot and due to the entire camera being calibrated to a fixed focal length, I just do not see how Sony could really compare, in IQ. Have to admit that the old fashion photojournalist look is pretty awesome too but I don’t think an AD would like us showing up on set to shoot with it, where size seems to matter. I can’t help but feel that mirror less will eventually make the DSLR’s obsolete and may not be to far off in the near future.
Leica has been manufacturing mirror less for years but for some odd reason, that has got to be the most overlooked and often forgotten about “leading manufacturer” for high end gear. I am thinking strongly about going over to Leica but would still have to stay with my Nikons for hotshoe work, that and Hass rentals.. lol
That had to be cool, shooting Alice Cooper, I mean photographing him.. lol Dead Babies and all… lol
I haven’t seen that revue, David, but I did go over and take a look at it. It really does not surprise me as much as it confirms the fact that the lens is as sharp as anyone that has used or owns it has been saying. It is just one of those lenses that is sharper than able to describe. 🙂
On the same note, seems that I am a bit outdated on some of the new lens releases by Nikon, never had been one that purchases on a release though. The 80-400 has been updated and has those features that I mentioned earlier. Upgraded the VR took off the aperture ring and changed the focus mechanism, as well as added that Nano coating. I still like mine better but I have learned its character and love the quick manual override focus ring. Both lenses do require a bit of an adjustment and character learning phase but once you get accustomed to the character of the lens, it is fantastic, for the focal range. I decided to also read some of the new reviews on it, as well, and found most lacking applicational comparison and real world results. If you skim down to the comments, form owners of the lens, you will find that they disagree with a lot of the reviewers comments and state the the lens is much better than the actual review. Granted, they are both a bit softer at 400mm but that is expected with a range of 80-400 and still is not as bad as the reviewers may think. On top of this, any softness is easily fixed with the RAW converter.
Once you get your arsenal rebuilt, let me know so that I can’t start talking to you about the fantastic future of mirror less camera bodies … lol
David, you may want to take a look at the 80-400mm VR. Granted, the VR sucks but I don’t use that anyway, it is the old system that kind of kicks and is really meant for still’s, not panning. Additionally, it does auto focus slow but a strong application of focus zoning compensated for it very well. The image quality is great and, of course, it is built with the same quality of the other professional lenses. It has a tendency to hunt but again, focus zone mapping and practice helps a lot, functions fantastic in manual mode. I have actually used mine for Life Style and Fashion publication assignment work. Once you learn and practice with the lens, it works great for 400mm shots of those fast moving and diving coastal birds. For the money and for a professional lens, with this focal range, very hard to beat. It has been out for about 5 years and it my be, just maybe, one of the lenses that Nikon has on the table for upgrade and release. It definitely would be a great candidate and could use an upgraded VR component. Rent one and test it out, I think you may be rather impressed with the image quality, versatility but not necessarily with the lack of over simplified functionality. At 300mm, it is Fantastic and even at 400mm, I get nice crisp images.
I think that you will love that 16-35 Zack, especially with 77mm filters. I have some friends that shoot professional landscape and received prerelease issues of the 16-35, loved them so much that some purchased them on release. Even though it may be a bit soft in the extreme corners, it isn’t really all that bad. I might suggest shooting for the gutter and adding for a bit of bleed, in other words, shoot a bit wider, if you are concerned with it.
Great lineup David and , as we both know Zack is mostly correct; in that the true difference is more apparent in the hands of truly gifted and qualified people, such as yourself. 🙂
If you get back into illustrative commercial assignment work, I might suggest the 200 2.0, one of the sharpest lenses Nikon has ever made. The same goes for the 300 2.8 but I would rather recommend the 200 -400 mm, AMAZING lens and fantastic for catalog or fashion and illustrative use, the compression is great and tack sharp.
Now for the honey, the Nikon Hotshoes are some of the best on the market and superior to the Canon line, they are just that good. Along with TTL function, you can also use the hotshots built in meter to function as an independent TTL functioning asset. What I mean by this is: Predetermine the amount of light that you want on your subject, per speed light, and set the hotshot to Aperture Mode. Set the aperture to your needs, lets say 5.6, even as a slaved light the meter will measure the bounce back and set the amount of light to be 5.6 on your subject. Very reliable and very easy to set and use, even better when they are all linked to a command module.
You have always promoted an atmosphere, in this site, so that anyone and everyone can brag about their accomplishments and achievements. It is one of the things that makes this place so enjoyable and fun, for many wanting to help others, professional and recreational alike. You are no exception to this Zack and I hope that you do not allow one person to make you feel that you are not just as welcome and human in wanting to share things, which you consider important, with the rest of us, the 99.99 % :).
Having said this: CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! Outstanding cover shot and it is one of those deals that serves us for a lifetime of great memory. Anyone and everyone would feel great about making a cover, especially when the photographer managed to get their good side. LOL.. Sorry, had to be the first to poke you on that one. 🙂
I really should just mind my own business but I’m just not built that way.
lbilcher, while you are asking others about their intentions and presuming that you have some kind of hyper intuition, which tells you that it is others that always have self serving motives. May I ask what your are trying to accomplish with the disgraceful bashing? Just seems to me that you don’t maintain this site, pay for any of the infrastructure yet, Zack has always made it open for all to use, with no limitations on posting about some of their own happy accomplishments. So, my next question would have to be: Why would you want me and others to look down on Zack, while looking up towards you for nothing more than attacking his character in open? Am I suppose to believe that you are now better than others and should I check with you to make sure that my posts say nothing about myself?
I think that you are banking on a bandwagon that is shamefully empty and caters to no one. Just saying that your attempt to try and redefine the character of another has only proven to be a catalyst in defining your own. And to answer your last question with the same: Seriously? Here is an idea, build your own forum and after you make a few posts, invite us to come over and attack your character on it…
Guess they have been feeding all of the children and dogs…
I have spent a lot of time in several of the Eastern European countries and have never found myself put against anything similar. As a matter of fact, they have always made me feel like family and welcomed me to anything that they had. I was always welcomed and invited to fish private waters and “yes” they did keep some of the fish for family dinners but not always. I have a very strong dislike for elitist that feel all others are beneath them, are not as intellectually developed as they or are entitled to some sort of supreme social standing due to a place of birth. Maybe after all of the fisheries are overpopulated and dead fish are floating all over the surface, will people finally realize that ones recreation should never supersede anthers desire and/or need. Eastern Bloc does not even exist anymore and to use such a term just demonstrates an extreme case for attempting to promote a desperate lack of equality, through a naive form of arrogance it is. If it was private, it would be marked “Private”, this seems to be more of a malicious purpose type of signage.
Thanks Brett and like your last shot, as well. I am and was determined to figure this beast out, with just the one light and answer Zacks call for the Holy Grail(no need for postproduction work), at the same time. I got it!!!!! 🙂 Finally figured out hot to get the desired high key shots without having to do any postproduction. This is straight out of the camera, not even a crop.
This is the basic layout: One speedlight with no ambient light (shoot in total darkness), white bounce cards and some negative fill with a few flags scattered about. If you notice the shadow a bit of distance underneath the reel, that will give you an idea of how well my chosen base worked. I had one of those “duh” moments, when I thought of it— it is the diffuser dome for another speedlight. Diffused the light inside of the dome and it made it disappear against the background— as I said: A “duh” moment. 🙂 Another “duh” moment came when I was trying to figure out what to use to prop the reel at the angle and still meet Zacks “Holy Grail”(no postproduction work) criteria: A clear plastic straw lightly sanded to diffuse the light inside the chamber…
Again, around $5.00 in total materials for the set. Hope this helps some that may want to use the layout. 🙂
Brett, really did enjoy the back and forth and very glad that you posted your examples! Look forward to more. 🙂 Lots of fun in having to put a lot of thought into a creating a limited resource solution for this too so, thanks for thread, Zack.
I agree about Brett’s shots!
I am reposting the two examples, as they had a major set flaw that I wanted to fix. In the process o adjusting the set, I knocked everything over and had to reset it all… ARRGGGGG lol I also made a couple of adjustments and added a little kicker to minimize the amount of shadow cast.
This is the flaw, as seen in the previous post.
These are the newer shots: First unprocessed and second processed and cleaned up a tad. Again, these are shot with just one speedlight, with no additional lights, including no ambient light sources.
Processed
Oh yea, about $5.00 in total for set materials.
Hey, thanks Brett and I have really enjoyed this exchange. We used to have a lot of threads, on this board, there were along the same exchange. So glad that Zack started this thread, great community input and we all pick up something from them. 🙂
This has been fun, as I decided to really limit myself to what I could use and keep it at what I think Zack may already have available. Kind of like a location shoot and I know that David Anderson has also been in this spot before, “on assignment with a strict deadline and have to make the shot work with what we have available”, no running off to the store.:) I don’t know if this will work for you, Zack, but I decided to really push myself and try to pull this shot off with just one speedlight. If you like it and it works for you, I will diagram it out ad post it for you. If not, I will digram out the two speedlight setup with DIY scrims.
this first shot is straight out of the camera, all I did was crop out the DIY bounce cards. the second is the same shot with a few minutes of postproduction. I should have polished the reel first but as the single light solution came to me, I kind of got excited and rushed into it. Polished first, the inside of the reel would have looked 100 times better. Nonetheless, below is the unprocessed and then processed files. Wanted you to see how much postproduction would actually be involved with this arrangement.
Oh yes! Wanted to mention that I love those Ezybox’s so much that I purchased 5 of them. Great choice, on your part, as that inner baffle really does deliver some incredible diffused light. Love them and strongly recommend them to anyone and everyone!.
Thanks for taking the time to better explain it Brett, that better explains all of the specular and shadow density now. So, your lighting is actually more subject right and left high, my confusion came from camera right and left, as that would not justify the effects that you have. Actually, this is exactly how I had planned on lighting the set but coming up with a method to both gain the diffused properties and keeping in mind that Zack only has the one light stand. I think I know how I am going to do this and use only the equipment that Zack mentioned, with the exception that he may have to purchase some white foam boards.
As I stated, you did a FANTASTIC job on these shots and should feel very proud of yourself. I can see that you did remove some shadow cast form your images but also found your originals on Google. Was and am very impressed, as you really did not have very much to do in postproduction and had very minimal shadow cast.
If I may share this bit of history and one of my main inspirational photographers, the best mentor that anyone could ever want and one of the best photographers that there has ever been. The late great Dean Collins was very famous for creating multiple light sources from a single unit. Much like how you used that side of the softbox to light the background, Dean used to shoot part of the light into a scrim and over shot the scrim to light an additional source, bounce off of an additional source or direct the portion to a mirror that would redirect the light to the same destinations. Pretty much the exact same thing that I am planning for this shot, to help maximize the yield out of two hotshoe’s.
Anyway, thanks for better explaining all of this and helping me to realize that I have not lost my mind yet. 🙂 Again, Great shots and if I can add anything, I might suggest playing with some different angles and relative bearings to your subject; not that you need to but I think that you will really like some different perspective’s. 🙂
