Tamron 17 - 50mm f/2.8 lens question

[burstintoflame81]

CHAMMER...I like that first shot you posted of the baseball. Did you use spot metering on the ball? Or just manually adjust until the LCD showed a pic to your liking? The EXIF doesn't state a metering mode.

 

[chammer]

evaluative metering, but i was shooting manual mode as i normally do when using flash. i was using the 430ex ii off camera since the light was getting really dark really fast. it was just to the right of the camera.

i had to fiddle with it a bit since i wanted some ambient light of the sun to hit the ball as well, but yea...i kinda like it for a quick snapshot. i should have used that as my low key assignment lol.

 

[burstintoflame81]

Yeah, I was thinking that you must have had some off camera flash, but was thinking it could have been good window light with a spot on the ball itself. I just got some triggers from my 2 sunpak flashes. ( but it can't transmit ttl, its just a trigger ) So I have been meaning to some off camera stuff for practice. I was reading a magazine that showed some still-life stuff and the guy used off camera flash aimed into a makeshift 45 degree reflector ( I think it was just white board or something but just as if they had a corner of a white room to bounce the flash into. It helped diffuse it really nicely and made it look like it was window light coming in.

 

[chammer]

yea, i've seen that bounce off white board used quite often...especially with product photography.

my triggers dont do ttl either. im pretty sure only the high end ones, like pocket wizard and elinchrom, support it. im just using the cheap ebay like ones (the pt-04's), but the cowboy studio branded ones i ordered from amazon.

manual isnt all that hard. i just set flash on 1/8th or so to start, and aperture at f/8, and shutter to the trigger sync speed of 1/200th and go from there....at least for outdoor shots.

for indoor "studio" type setups i use my target which is awesome. i did a super quick review in the product review forum here:

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...hotovision-14-digital-calibration-target.html


it takes pretty much all of the guess work out of setting both exposure, and white balance. it can be used outdoors, but for what i shoot outside (and especially these sample shots) i dont mind missing the white balance a tad, if at all, by using one of the presets. its easily enough corrected in lightroom.

 

[burstintoflame81]

I actually just got mine from cowboy studio as well. ( you may have been one of the ones recommending them in another post, I can't remember ) I got 1 trigger and 2 recievers to use on 2 Sunpak 42z flashes. I have only tried them a couple times when testing out some macro extension tubes ( first time shooting macro as well ). I was just leaving the flash at 1/1 ( which I think is full power?? ) and shooting at 1/200th. Then I would just adjust the apeture up to like f8-f12 and use that to compensate if the shot was blown out. Figure after a while I will just get a feel for it.

 

[icassell]

I've had my 17-50 (original version) for 3 years -- first on my 30D and now on my 7D. It is my walkaround lens and is on the camera >75% of the time. I have never missed having VC (or IS or whatever you want to call it). The lens is well built and sharp. It focuses rapidly (although perhaps not as fast as if it had an ultrasonic motor). I highly recommend it. I use it handheld most of the time.

 

[chammer]

I actually just got mine from cowboy studio as well. ( you may have been one of the ones recommending them in another post, I can't remember ) I got 1 trigger and 2 recievers to use on 2 Sunpak 42z flashes. I have only tried them a couple times when testing out some macro extension tubes ( first time shooting macro as well ). I was just leaving the flash at 1/1 ( which I think is full power?? ) and shooting at 1/200th. Then I would just adjust the apeture up to like f8-f12 and use that to compensate if the shot was blown out. Figure after a while I will just get a feel for it.

im not sure if that was me or not.

1/1 is indeed full power, and i havent (yet) needed it. i find myself at 1/4, 1/8th, and 1/16th the most. the 285hv doesnt have 1/8th so i usually run the 430ex ii as master at 1/4 or 1/8, and then set the 285hv at 1/16th for a little shadow fill on the opposite side. i've been shooting through the umbrellas more than bouncing them anymore, but either way i choose and depending on how far away i place the lights leaves me at f/5.6 to f/8 which is perfect sharpness for both the 50 1.8, and the 70-200 2.8 which im using for my puppy portraits.

and yea, you'll get a feel for it. since i generally use the exact same setup each time i can pretty much throw everything together in a couple mins, dial the camera straight to 1/200th @ f/8, take a test shot to check exposure and to set white balance with my target, and usually find that if im not dead on im only off by +/- 1/3 of a stop.

would love to experiment more with the lighting position, but where i've been doing it room is tight so im pretty much stuck for now, but its helped me get set and ready quicker! lol

 

[gameboykk1]

That's probably while it's auto focusing and metering while in auto mode. On most compact point and shoots and all DSLRs you have a 2-stage shutter button. When you press it halfway the camera will autofocus and meter light. When you press all the way down the shutter opens instantaneously until it's told to close.

 

[burstintoflame81]

That's probably while it's auto focusing and metering while in auto mode. On most compact point and shoots and all DSLRs you have a 2-stage shutter button. When you press it halfway the camera will autofocus and meter light. When you press all the way down the shutter opens instantaneously until it's told to close.

WTF???

 

[chammer]

lol one of them bots again.