Looking down the 20DD Blouse

[UKBob]

Sorry... I meant Lens.

Does the 20D have a "look down" lens adapter, the kind which wedding photographers use to save them from crouching?

Are there (m)any wedding photographers here? What lenses are best suited to wedding photography, indoors and out?

Ive not yet looked for or found any advice on choosing a flash - what kinds are there, and factors to consider? My G5's flash was so powerful, anyone within 4 metres ended up looking horribly bleached.

[RobDickinson]

I think your after either something like the 'Canon Angle Finder C' or the LCD thing (Zigview?)

[CVP]

Yes the Zigview will do that for you but.... really to be honest I don't think it does particularly well at that function as the LCD screen does not have that great a resolution and contrast. The Zigview R does however have the motion detection trick up its sleeve which is lots of fun to play with.

If you want to look into your SLR this way you're much better off with the Canon Angle Finder C (see this link which gives all Canon accessories [url]www.canon.co.uk/Images/14_127385.pdf[/url] ).

However this looks like it's mroe suited to macro work where you have lots of time to compose and get things just right. I suspect you wouldn't have time for this covering weddings. I'm sure Simpo will be along to contibute with his experiences so far of shooting weddings with the D70.

Cheers

Chris

[Black5]

If you want an angled viewfinder, have a look on Ebay for the Seagull version.

Excellent value.

[Bee_Jay]

With regards to flash, you really should stick with Canon and then you have 3 choices really.

The 420EX if you can find them
The 430EX which replaced the 420EX recently and has a nice LCD display and more flexibility
The 580EX if you can afford it.

Then you can enter the world of wireless flash, using the 580EX to control many other Canon flashes at the same time, such as the 420/430.

I have a 580 and a couple of 420 I use as slaves when I need it.

With all of those you most certainly will not blow things out, more importantly you can start bouncing and enter a whole new world...

Read this - the ultimate guide: http://photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/

[UKBob]

RobDickinson said:

I think your after either something like the 'Canon Angle Finder C' or the LCD thing (Zigview?)

That looks about right Looks like it comes with 2 adapters so it should be able to clip on to any slr.

CVP said:

The Zigview R does however have the motion detection trick up its sleeve which is lots of fun to play with. If you want to look into your SLR this way you're much better off with the Canon Angle Finder C (see this link which gives all Canon accessories [url]www.canon.co.uk/Images/14_127385.pdf[/url] ). I'm sure Simpo will be along to contibute with his experiences so far of shooting weddings with the D70.

The zigview R looks like fun, but the canon pdf link didnt work for me. Im sure simpo will be along any minute now...

[simpo two]

CVP said:

I'm sure Simpo will be along to contibute with his experiences so far of shooting weddings with the D70.

TBH I've never felt the need for one at weddings. If I want to get lower, I just crouch down a bit, it's much faster.

A right-angle viewer would be handy for some studio and corporate work as it would save crawling about on the floor, which doesn't look very dignified if you have clients watching, or want them to look through the viewfinder (which is hard at the best of times with a D70!)

I looked at the Zigview but it seems like overkill (and the image rotates with the camera) when you can do it with a mirror, so I 'persuaded' my father's old Minolta finder to fit.

[simpo two]

UKBob said:

Im sure simpo will be along any minute now...

Predictable, moi?

[UKBob]

Bee_Jay said:

With regards to flash, you really should stick with Canon and then you have 3 choices really. The 420EX if you can find them The 430EX which replaced the 420EX recently and has a nice LCD display and more flexibility The 580EX if you can afford it. Then you can enter the world of wireless flash, using the 580EX to control many other Canon flashes at the same time, such as the 420/430. I have a 580 and a couple of 420 I use as slaves when I need it. With all of those you most certainly will not blow things out, more importantly you can start bouncing and enter a whole new world... Read this - the ultimate guide: http://photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/

Suffice to say I wont be reading that guide in one go(!) but ive bookmarked it and will go back and read when I have more time, cheers for the link! Glad to hear there are only a few flashes, making the choice a lot easier

[UKBob]

simpo two said:

CVP said: I'm sure Simpo will be along to contibute with his experiences so far of shooting weddings with the D70. TBH I've never felt the need for one at weddings. If I want to get lower, I just crouch down a bit, it's much faster.

I went to two weddings this year, one had the worlds worst photographer (worst technique etc) but the other was professionally organised. Group after group of people assembled to have shots taken on a sunny lawn, it went on for over an hour. And the camera was placed at waist height (which gives the best viewing angle, right?) I assumed the benefits were 1 hour of crouching saved, and 100+ photos which are guaranteed to be perfectly level and consistent in that sense. (I dont mean to imply that you have a wonky crouch though simpo )

[UKBob]

When I buy an SLR, I am Really going to miss the flip out screen. The number of times Ive had my camera over my head (when backed into a corner) or between my knees, trying to photograph from a low angle or even photograph upwards under an object like a flower. There will be plenty of situations where I just wont want to lie down.

[CVP]

UKBob said:

When I buy an SLR, I am Really going to miss the flip out screen. The number of times Ive had my camera over my head (when backed into a corner) or between my knees, trying to photograph from a low angle or even photograph upwards under an object like a flower. There will be plenty of situations where I just wont want to lie down.

True, this was one of the advantages the Nikon F3 and F4 I used to have had. You could unclip the pentaprism and look directly down onto the ground glass focus screen. Helped me get some unobtrusive shots where I was not supposed to e.g. roof of the Sistene Chapel. I just pretended I was cleaning the camera and shooting a couple of test shots - result the security folk gave people with compaacts whose flash kept going off a hard time with the no pictures rule.

Chris

[simpo two]

UKBob said:

When I buy an SLR, I am Really going to miss the flip out screen.

Actually, IIRC the Olympus r-EVOLT-ing has one that hinges up.

UKBob said:

The number of times Ive had my camera over my head (when backed into a corner) or between my knees... I just wont want to lie down.

I cannot help but go 'Fnaar!' at this point. Mind you, one reason why you've been crammed into a corner like that is because you didn't have the right (wide-angle) lens for the job.

I wonder if the wedding chap you mentioned used medium format? They're much more suitable for waist-level work as there's a socking great ground glass screen on top.

However, the formal element of my stuff is minimal; people book me because they want the emphasis on reportage, which is much more fun than simply being an overdressed goat-herd!

[UKBob]

simpo two said:

I wonder if the wedding chap you mentioned used medium format? They're much more suitable for waist-level work as there's a socking great ground glass screen on top. However, the formal element of my stuff is minimal; people book me because they want the emphasis on reportage, which is much more fun than simply being an overdressed goat-herd!

I think the lady-pro might have been using MF, yes. And I figured a good wedding shoot would definitely have a tripod and to help matters, one of those adapter viewfinders

[simpo two]

UKBob said:

I think the lady-pro might have been using MF, yes.

Good grief. 'Women! Know your limits'

If you're planning to do weddings I'd honestly suggest you get the camera first and get some major flying hours in, before worrying about waist-level finders. You'll need to be *totally familiar* with your camera before strapping extra bits on. Weddings are hard work, with difficult lighting and exposure situations, and you don't get a second chance. The trick is to get all the tecchy stuff right, then anticipate, compose, follow when needed, direct when needed, try not to fall over anything, and then add the flowing interpersonal skills on top as though it was easy

[UKBob]

simpo two said:

UKBob said: I think the lady-pro might have been using MF, yes. Good grief. 'Women! Know your limits' If you're planning to do weddings I'd honestly suggest you get the camera first and get some major flying hours in, before worrying about waist-level finders. You'll need to be *totally familiar* with your camera before strapping extra bits on. Weddings are hard work, with difficult lighting and exposure situations, and you don't get a second chance. The trick is to get all the tecchy stuff right, then anticipate, compose, follow when needed, direct when needed, try not to fall over anything, and then add the flowing interpersonal skills on top as though it was easy

It occured to me for the first time yesterday, that praps yes, maybe oneday I would do weddings.

I wouldnt dream of advertising my services though, unless I could guarantee cracking results so it wont be for a few years yet (read decades!). Gotta learn my Fstops, lightspots and pitstops first

[simpo two]

UKBob said:

It occured to me for the first time yesterday, that praps yes, maybe oneday I would do weddings.

Ah, OK, I thought you wanted the waist-level finder specifically for wedding groups.

To quote from my favourite book: 'We don't tackle flying through rock until a little later in the programme...'