deltaboxxx

iTrader: (1)

srika,is there a main lens u use for these pics?

srika

hey, nowadays I mostly only use the 24-70 2.8L. If you have looked at any of the rest of the thread, I was using the 24-105 4L until Dec 2007. If you saw any shots with wild blur and very small DOF, it was most likely with the 50 1.4. I was playing around with the 50 a lot after I got it but for many club situations the FL is crippling - especially for large groups. And, I got tired of it. I also got tired of the dust. Got my sensor cleaned for the 2nd time, and then decided to leave the 24-70 on most of the time. It is performing VERY well.

deltaboxxx

iTrader: (1)

i agree,the pics from the last page and all the pics on ur flickr makes me WANT your lens.

i was going to get the 1.2 50mm...but now im going to check out the 24-70...i want something good for pics of people with wide or small DOF option...this looks like the one!

deltaboxxx

iTrader: (1)

i was lookin at the 50 1.4 also instead of the 1.2 (for the obvious price diff)...since i dont have a prime lens yet,but if im going to spend 1K on a lens,it looks like it would be the 24-70 now.

deltaboxxx

iTrader: (1)

how does shooting without an IS feel on this lens? is shaky hands real noticable?

srika

it's noticeable for things such as DJ lights and other details - but even with those you can get good results with the 24-70, you just have to hold it rock-steady and do some burst shots. For people shots, you won't get any blur as long as you get your flash set right - you can even hold the camera unsteady and it will freeze it nice (but background elements would be blurred in that case but it's not a terribly big deal). I mostly use F4.0 at the club so honestly if you were looking to get a similar lens I would have to recommend the 24-105 f4L. That lens is much lighter and also not as big in terms of how far as it extends, and it has IS. The 2.8 is nice to have but I probably only use it 15% of the time - mostly its 4.0 - you get better color with the 4.0 because it's not letting as much light in (I think that's why). For the shots with the real eye-popping color, you want f/4 or 5. 4 just seems like the best balance of speed and DOF, for me.

I will probably get another 24-105 down the road.

Another thing, what camera do you have? the 24 is best for an FF, you can use it with a cropped sensor but it obviously won't go as wide. For my recent shots, the biggest denominator imo is the flash setting and position, not the lens. I have changed the way I use the flash somewhat, before I was using -1/3 output and now I just leave it at 0. It's helped with processing time immensely, indeed now sometimes I don't even have to do any PP. If anything just some minor lifting of shadows and curve adjustment. Before I used to do a lot but having started a new 2-night gig 2 months ago, I just don't have the time to do that anymore.

If you are looking to do those kind of pictures, there is really no need for the 24-70 2.8. you will get the same results + IS with the 24-105 at f/4.

srika

a couple of my fav shots ever, from Spybar 11/07/2008

LIPPSTUH

iTrader: (2)

wonder why....

deltaboxxx

iTrader: (1)

well i just read back bout 8 pages,and there was alot of good info,so thanks!

deltaboxxx

iTrader: (1)

i have a XSi

i know its only a starter,but im still very noob.

i only have the kit lens,which i concider a mistake,although i get some pretty nice shots with it.

i wont be doing club shooting,mostly pics of my car/car shoots,and my wife/family and possibly modeling if i can convince my wife to let me persue that. here is a pic from the other day of my wife,straight from the cam,only sharpened and resized.

deltaboxxx

iTrader: (1)

i still know nothign about flash photography yet,but i want to buy a nice flash and learn my way around it.

what flash do you use now? any reccomendations? low light situations will be most likely for me until i decide to get studio lighting

srika

XSi is great and you can do a lot with it, I just wanted to make sure you knew about the FL differences between cropped and FF.

hmm. club shooting is very different than car shots and home type shots. It surprises me myself, I feel like I can take pretty good shots at the club, and then sometimes I'll be at a family event, indoors during the day and I'm having trouble taking a "regular" shot. lol. it's coming out blurred and I'm standing there going .

deltaboxxx

iTrader: (1)

never mind. lol

deltaboxxx

iTrader: (1)

i had a little trouble figuring the diff between cropped and FF,and after i read some simplistic explinations on it,i know what it is and i see how much nicer FF is over cropped. but like u said the XSi is nice,and ill stick with it till the time comes to trade it in for a FF (which is going to be eventual.)

i see now how the FF is going to be more saturated and colorful than a cropped and ill have a tougher time gettign the same pics u get with the same lens in the same setting,but i guess thats what lightrooms going to have to do for me till i go FF. the 24-105 IS is actually cheaper than the 24-70 but i hear more good things aobut the 24-70..its a tough decision. but i think the 24-105 might actually be able to serve me better. good thing these can stay with me when i go FF with a new body

srika

hey man don't know where you read all these fantastic things about FF but it's not the case - there are some "advantages" with DOF effect for portrait work and people like it because it lets them stay "true" to the FL figures on lenses, but as far as saturation and color - no there is no gain from FF. If you have a 24mm lens your FL will be 24mm on FF, it would be closer on a cropped. But at 70 or 105, you would be farther zoomed on the cropped, that's a "shortcoming" of FF. FF also is more susceptible to vignetting. These are the basic thoughts about FF vs. cropped. imo there is nothing that makes either one the better choice. If anything with the regular zoom lenses I would say the cropped is more desirable because it gives you longer zoom. And that is nice.

Again, the XSi is a great cam and should do everything you need it to do. Don't think that FF is something magical and much better. It's nothing that can't be done with a cropped as well, all it depends on is lens choice and shooting styles.

deltaboxxx

iTrader: (1)

maybe the writer of the page i read was mis informed some of this shit is just over my head lol.

Mizouse

if you want to be able to go wide and have IS and 2.8 go with the 17-55mm 2.8 IS (its equivalent to a 28-88mm in full frame), sure it is an EF-S lens but lenses dont really lose value after some time, so you could easily sell it down the road when you decide to go with a full frame camera.

crzygosu87

iTrader: (4)

next lens on my list is the tamron 17-50mm 2.8
has wide angle capabilities, relatively cheap price and sharp/vivid shots after having used my friend's for a day

any opinions regarding these???

back to the thread though ... srika, what gear do you carry around with you when you go club shooting? specifically how many lenses too?

srika

don't have any experience or knowledge on that lens.

nowadays I carry the cam, flash, and 24-70. One set of batteries is usually enough for 300 pics with the flash. I need a new flash - I can't fire off very quickly - but, I can fire off enough to get the shots I need, so that makes it difficult, atm, to justify the cost of the EXII. I wish I could still buy a new EX. I looked around and came up empty, save for ebay.

LIPPSTUH

iTrader: (2)

my next lens as well, i heard great things about it for that budget lens.

Mizouse

by the way do you take these pictures for yourself and post online? or do you take them for somone?

and if its for yourself, where do you host it so people can see? and do you go around telling people where they can see them or..??

srika

I used to do it "for myself" and my gallery site, used to be at Vision pretty much every Saturday. Started working for Exactevents.com (again) in October, after I decided I needed to make more money, and consistent money, especially. My last stint with them was in November 2007, I lasted a whole 3 weeks before it became clear it was too much work for what I was being paid (2 events per night, 3 days a week). Now I'm doing 2 events per week (Fri and Sat) and being paid more. Totally manageable now. I don't go to Vision anymore, and I don't miss it. Been there, done that. I've seen all the big DJ's I'd ever wanted to see, to the point where they were coming back around 2, 3, even 4 times. Enough is enough, I have to move on.

Nowadays I don't update my personal gallery site much - it's traffic had already slowed after the unplanned hiatus which resulted from my appendectomy. And, I have numerous unfinished galleries in there (almost exclusively from Vision) which I know I will finish at some point, they are just on the backburner for now.

Now, I post my 'favorite' shots to flickr (read: bewbage), and the full gallery to Exactevents.com - I ultimately put shots on my gallery site too, but also because I'm being paid, there is a level of exclusivity that goes along with it. If I was posting the pictures at lots of places, people would have no real reason to go to Exactevents, at least photo-wise. But another thing I started doing (at the request of EE) is adding their watermark (along with mine underneath) to my own personal site, and to my flickr. That has worked out well. I also post the best photos to my facebook, that has worked out well too. Facebook ROCKS for such things. I am not using Myspace much anymore, Facebook just seems much more refined and has more communication options.

I have Exactevents business cards that I hand out after almost every shot, whenever I can. If its a really hot babe I'll give her my personal card lol. Sometimes if I run out of cards or something I'll exchange facebook or myspace accounts.

Mizouse

i see..

Mizouse

i kind of want to get into this as a side job, but i need to get an actual job first

srika

Mizouse

Mizouse

why havent i looked at your flickr before!!

srika

something else you've been pointed to before...

Mizouse

srika

.

srika

frank1123

srika, your pics are awesome dude i wonder if the clubs around here are okay with me bringing in an slr camera...

deltaboxxx

iTrader: (1)

^they pay him,i dont think hes just walkin in lookin official lol

srika

Hey, thanks for taking a look!

Clubs are totally lax these days, at least in Chicago. Every week I see many people with DSLR's. Won't hurt to go to one of your clubs and see if they'll let you and your D90 in!

deltaboxxx

iTrader: (1)

i wonder if this will work at my local gentlemens club. lol

stogie1020

Srika, I know you said you use your flash off camera sometimes at the club with a hotsynch cord, and I was wondering what do you do with the flash if you need to use one of your hands?

I just got a off-shoe cord, and there is no "dummy" hot shoe opening on top of the part that actually goes into the hot shoe, so if I need to put the flash down for a second, I have to set it down on a table or cram it into my armpit still connected to the camera by the cord.

Any better solutions? I have been messing around with side lighting, but every time I want to switch a setting on the camera, I feel like I am going to drop the flash.

srika

hey, I have never used off-camera flash. and, with the monger 5D I have wondered about the same. i mean sometimes I have to brace my hand to get a good shot, esp with the 24-70. although, I do take a good number of shots without looking in the viewfinder, and they come out fine. so I think it would be OK.

yeah thats tough about not having a place to put the flash. i have seen some guys with a holster (you might like that eh) they put the external flash in. although, it is a bit dorky imo. lol

edit: but who are we kidding.. taking pictures at a club is dorky....

deltaboxxx

iTrader: (1)

how about a hand strap vs a neck strap stoge? its less dorky and keeps ur grip on the cam better..

just a suggestion!

stogie1020

Thanks for the info. It seems like they could add a "cold" shoe to the top of the part that slides into the hot shoe so you could just click the flash in for a second. Oh well.

stogie1020

The actual issue was what to do with a flash if you are using an off-camera synch cord and need a free hand.