Random Photography Stuff

[DibblyDobbler]

LongQ said:

rob0r said:

I'm pondering buying another canon body at the moment as I'm not quite happy with my current kit. I mainly photo my dogs, static cars and holiday snaps, with some occasional motosport. I use either aperture or shutter priority modes.

30d
55-250 is
18-55 is II
50 1.8 II

EOS-M
18-55 ef-m
22 f2 ef-m

I'm not really happy with the photos from the 30d, the image quality doesn't seem great even at iso 100. This is especially the case with the 55-250 which I mostly use. Though I'm happy enough with the IQ of the 50mm. The AF is rapid and is great for the dogs.

I'm very happy with the image quality from the eos-m with either lens. What lets it down from me is the well known AF slowness. It's virtually impossible to focus the dogs on the move! I like the auto iso but I do miss a viewfinder occasionally. I find the eos-m fantastic for static images.

I'm considering what to do next and I've been looking at either buying another body or buying another lens or two for the 30d. In terms of another body I've considered something like a second hand
60d or 7d for around £300-400, but I think I'd still want to replace the 55-250 which may double the budget again (70-200 f4?).

I've also noticed the 100d brand new for around £300 with a highly rated 18-55 stm. I'm not sure I'd gain much with a 60d/7d. The small size should be fine as I don't mind the size of the eos-m at all.

Should I stick with the 30d and buy a lens or two? Or is it so outdated I should buy a different body, if so why not a 100d? Anything else I should consider??

Apologies for the ramble, I really am quite confused!

The 55-250 seems to be well thought of for the price thought things may have moved on for non-Canon lenses in that price range.

Personally I would be looking at updating the body and trying it with the existing lens to see how you feel about it before making a lens change decision. I think there should be much to gain in the body area alone. The decision about which body to move too is really about understanding what the differences are between the xxxD, xxD and xD offerings. Then decide which of the differences are most important to you. How the camera handles may be as important as the feature list. Maybe more important.

Yep - I'd go for a body update as a 30D is pretty long in the tooth now. Also the most recent 55-250 STM version is excellent and can be had for £100ish!

[DibblyDobbler]

Dan_1981 said:

Second - a question: Is there a go to Nikon fit, af-s wide angle?

Siggy 10-20 would be the obvious answer (I had the Canon version a while back and liked it) - however maybe the Toki 11-16 if you don't mind the restricted range (I just bought one of these as part of my downsizing drive ).

[DibblyDobbler]

I'm off up to Torridon tomorrow - nar-nee-nar-nar

That's all

[Comacchio]

DibblyDobbler said:

I'm off up to Torridon tomorrow - nar-nee-nar-nar

That's all

Enjoy! Want to see some nice wide angle shots.. help me make this decision!

Allan

[DibblyDobbler]

Comacchio said:

Enjoy! Want to see some nice wide angle shots.. help me make this decision!

Allan

Cheers - yes I will do just that

[Dan_1981]

DibblyDobbler said:

Dan_1981 said:

Second - a question: Is there a go to Nikon fit, af-s wide angle?

Siggy 10-20 would be the obvious answer (I had the Canon version a while back and liked it) - however maybe the Toki 11-16 if you don't mind the restricted range (I just bought one of these as part of my downsizing drive ).

The Sigma lense - what is their designation for lenses with motors built in?

My 5100 doesn't have the inbuilt motor so needs an AFS equivalent - is it HSM for Sigma stuff?

[Gad-Westy]

Dan_1981 said:

DibblyDobbler said:

Dan_1981 said:

Second - a question: Is there a go to Nikon fit, af-s wide angle?

Siggy 10-20 would be the obvious answer (I had the Canon version a while back and liked it) - however maybe the Toki 11-16 if you don't mind the restricted range (I just bought one of these as part of my downsizing drive ).

The Sigma lense - what is their designation for lenses with motors built in?

My 5100 doesn't have the inbuilt motor so needs an AFS equivalent - is it HSM for Sigma stuff?

Yes, in a nutshell, HSM is the equivalent of AF-S. So any HSM lens will auto focus on a D5100.

I'd second the Tokina 11-16 suggestion. A superb lens by any measure. The MK2 version has a built in AF motor.

[Dan_1981]

I've been offered the Sigma pre-owned for £170 along with a UV filter.....

[Comacchio]

Well DD... what's the verdict on the Tokina? What's the difference between the two 11-16s on

http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/Tokina/Tokina-C...

?

Cheers,

Allan

[RobDickinson]

The mk2 has better coating to resist flare etc

[DibblyDobbler]

Comacchio said:

Well DD... what's the verdict on the Tokina? What's the difference between the two 11-16s on

http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/Tokina/Tokina-C...

?

Cheers,

Allan

Well. Not done anything too scientific but I did try a test shot out the window of the Hotel at Torridon:

Tammy 16-300 at 16mm
v
Toki 11-16 at 16mm
v
Canon 16-35 F4L at 16mm

I was fully expecting the Canon to be great, the Tammy to be crap and the Toki in the middle somewhere...

However much to my surprise I did some pixel peeping on a distant building and the Tammy and Toki were both pretty good and both 'better' than the Canon

So I need to do further tests but the Toki (original cheaper one) seems perfectly acceptable and has the bonus of going to f2.8. The downside is that it's got so little zoom it's virtually a prime. I'll post up more shots when I get a chance

[DibblyDobbler]

Right - make of this what you will. Three shots at 16mm all out the window of DD towers this evening. Not much in it if you look at the whole images on a screen - the colours are less vivid on the Tokina (maybe more true to life), but it has most detail in the shadows. The Tamron has way more distortion. I had a good old pixel peep and the Tamron is clearly last (no surprise as it's a superzoom) and the other two are pretty close - Tokina by a nose maybe.

It's not that scientific but may be of some interest - comments welcome



Tamron 16-300 @16mm by Mike Smith, on Flickr



Tokina 11-16 @16mm by Mike Smith, on Flickr



Canon 16-35 F4L @16mm by Mike Smith, on Flickr

[DibblyDobbler]

Hi All. I'm selling my 6D - Anybody know a decent method of getting the shutter count? Tried Eosinfo but no joy ...

TIA

[garybezz]

Dan_1981 said:

Two things - at random.

I recently bought this book - primarily as I used to work with the author and like his work, but also as it's a great guide to somewhere I live on the doorstep too.

Yes I know of some of the places, yes I should explore more on my own. But It's pretty good.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Peak-District-Through-Jame...

Your post prompted me to check this book out as it is also my neck of the woods.
When I first looked Amazon were out of stock but a couple of days later showed one available so I ordered and am looking forward to receiving it.
Gets great reviews - thanks for the recommendation.

[DibblyDobbler]

Right - my back-to-basics downsizing drive is nearly complete!

The Out Column
Canon 6D
Canon 16-35 F4L
Canon 24-105 F4L
Canon MPE-65
Samyang 14mm f2.8

The In column
Canon 100D - 150D soon I hope if they ever get round to releasing it!
Sigma 17-50 f2.8 - arrived today - seems really sharp and nice and compact
Tokina 11-16 f2.8 - wide angle for lanscapes - seems very sharp and again compact
Canon 100mm - new macro lens to be used with Raynox 150 or 250 to give up to 2x mag

Keeping
Canon 400m f5.6 - great birdy lens, best you can do without buying something huge and expensive

Undecided
Tamron 16-300 - Hmm, not sure if I will keep this or use my new 17-50 for walkabout duties... probably sell

Oh and ps - I'm about £1500 up after all this

[LongQ]

DibblyDobbler said:

Right - my back-to-basics downsizing drive is nearly complete!

............

Oh and ps - I'm about £1500 up after all this

I'd put it somewhere safe DD.

You'll probably need a Full Frame Fix in the New Year ....

[RobDickinson]

6d mk2 cant be far away

[DibblyDobbler]

LongQ said:

I'd put it somewhere safe DD.

You'll probably need a Full Frame Fix in the New Year ....

I'm not even going to fight it when the urge comes LQ

[LongQ]

DibblyDobbler said:

LongQ said:

I'd put it somewhere safe DD.

You'll probably need a Full Frame Fix in the New Year ....

I'm not even going to fight it when the urge comes LQ

Last weekend I was trying to get to grips with a bit of DiY fixing a load of loose bathroom floor tiles.

Found some gooey stuff from the US that claimed it could do the job by drilling a few small holes and pumping in the goo.

However as most of the grout had already crumbled away the approach and effect needed modified thinking. Compounded by knowing there were electrical cables for underfloor heating to consider.

My drills or the type to go though grout cleanly and successfully were too big. The smallest I could find to buy was 4mm. The tile gap about 4.0001mm. Challenging.

So I bought 2 small drill bits ..... and a Multi-Cutter saw device along with a grout remover fitting. Just in case. In no way did I really want an bright shiny thing what might find a use at some point., Oh no. This was covering my back if the drill approach failed.

I used one drill bit. It worked well. At 98p each for the two I bought the sensible purchase was clearly good value.

The bright shiny thing is still sitting by the front door waiting to be returned. The grout remover tool is sitting next to me as a reminder. I keep prowling around looking for a 'job' that only the Multi-Cutter (Battery powered so really really handy and convenient ..... ) will do. It seems wrong to return it without at least trying it out .... but that would mean I would probably be morally obliged to keep it.

Good call from Rob I thought ....

[DibblyDobbler]

Good work that man! Us Boys need our toys!

Ps - when are you up here again? Soon isn't it?