You will need some sort of light modifiers. It's next to impossible to create a 'circle' of light when the output from the flash tube is never circular to begin with. Fired from a distance the flash output lights up an area more like a diamond shape rather than a circle.

You put 2 diamond shapes together and you still won't get any closer to a circle at any angle. An umbrella might help as the umbrella is circular is shape. Bounce your flash off it and you would have much better luck in getting a circle of light.

Quote of the day:



LOL!

After the test, I'll bet kopitiam looks like this :

Try Digicolor. I got one from them quite some time back. It's a tiny ball head that I can mount on my light stand and have the F58 stand mounted on the other end.

Guys,

For all those using APS-C sensor you would need to seriously re-think the 24-70mm range. It is not nearly wide enough on the wide end. 24mm in FF equates to 36mm in APS-C. The angle of view is almost like a 50mm in FF. Although you would still find some uses to it you will have difficulty in trying to get large group (i.e. more than 3 persons in a row) to fit in when you are in cramped quarters.

The 70mm on the tele end is not tele enough for decent runway coverage when shooting models. You guys with 18-70mm should know how it feels like.

I dunno about you guys but the 24-70mm range is severely limited by the APS-C sensor. You get an expensive lens that is neither here nor there. For landscapes it not wide at all. For events is it just outside the usable wide range and for runways it's not long enough! Frustrations all around. Most practical is to use for portraits but given the price I would rather go for the 50mm F1.4

If you have the money you would be better served with a 16-35mm for the APS-C

That's the reason the 17-50mm F2.8 is such a popular choice among APS-C users.

P.S. Albnok has the 17-35mm sigma and had experienced stripped gears with that lens.

One should never get a lens just because it is cheap and is said to be a good lens with good IQ or whatever.

One should get a lens that fits one's style of shooting. Period.

Saying that one can get a UWA later is justifying one's not-so-wise decision. A UWA is not that cheap either. If you add up the UWA and the 24-70 you may just end up with the amount for the 16-35 or around there. Why not just bite the bullet and get the proper lens to begin with and do away with all the waiting in between and missing all those shots while you're waiting!

That's just my point of view of course. For me I would not get a 24-70mm while I am still shooting with an APS-C cam. If I want to get the equivalent, I'll either go for the 17-50mm F2.8 if budget is a concern or go straight to 16-35 Zeiss if budget permits. Both the lens will fit my shooting style better than a 24-70mm would and as a bonus, I can get a UWA (16-35mm only ler in this case) without the need to buy another lens if I decide to go FF later on.

Thus on a economic point of view it's much better to invest in a 16-35mm Zeiss if you plan to go FF.

The 16-35mm Zeiss is about the same price as the 24-70mm Zeiss.. around RM55xx IINM.

tanjq87 : As long as the shoe fits... as they say. I shoot with the 18250 most of the time and I always go like.. Darn! If only this lens is a little bit wider.. when shooting landscapes.

Why didn't I get the 16-105 then. Well, thing is I use tele a lot too when doing landscapes and the 250mm just gives me that extra flexibility. Also I like the extra reach when doing portraits and close ups.

Pic spam from PC Fair.

Part 1


C&C Welcome.

PC Fair Pic Spam.

Part 2.

My flickr free account so got limit. Cannot post too many images there lor...

Anyway, I forgot that I turned off the SSS and shot the whole PC Fair thingy with it switched off. So the pics are not a sharp as they could be.

Just shoot for fun so it's okay lar, I guess. Just some practise...

Last part of PC Fair spam:

I find the pic oversaturated in terms of colour... Makes it a bit unnatural for me. Too vivid in terms of colour. My 2 cents...

The 50mm will be more versatile when coupled with a FF cam. And yes it will be good to have a wider lens. For all practicallity you could shoot a wedding with a FF and a 20mm prime plus a 50mm prime.

FF or Full Frame camera which mean the DSLR has a sensor that is equivalent to 35mm film size. E.g. A900, 5D mkII, 1Ds mkIII, D700, D3, D3x

APS-C means camera with a crop factor (smaller sensor lar) for Sony A2xx/A3xx it's 1.5x while for Canon it's 1.6x. Nikon also 1.5x

Using an APS-C sensor effectively crops out the border of a pic for any focal length and thus gives you an impression that the pic is a little bit more 'zoomed' in.

So if you use a 50mm lens on an APS-C you will effectively get a pic that is about the same angle of view as a pic taken with a FF camera BUT using a 75mm focal length.

If you want a pic that is about the same angle of view of a 50mm on a FF, then you need to take a pic using 35mm focal length on the APS-C

Hope this makes sense.

Getting a lens that starts at 28mm on use with an APS-C camera is definitely NOT A GOOD IDEA.

28mm * 1.5 crop factor will give you a lens that starts at 42mm focal view!!! That's not wide at all! The bright aperture will do you no good at all if you cannot fit your subjects into the frame!!!

If you really want to get a lens for future FF that you can still use now on an APS-C you should be looking at something that starts with a 16mm. I don't think you can find a lot of budget lenses that starts at that focal length. That's why the 17-50mm F2.8 is so popular. Only drawback it that it is designed for APS-C and not FF.

mcline_007: The problem with lenses is that that are quoted on a FF scale when it comes to focal lengths. So what you see on the lens is the 'correct' focal length IF it was on a FF camera.

What I mean is this:

Your 18-70mm kit lens will actually give you a focal length of 27-105mm on a APS-C camera. Thus your 18mm on the APS-C will give you approx. view of a 28mm lens on a FF.

18mm on a FF will be Ultra Wide Angle but is only considered wide on the APS-C due to the crop factor.

So if you get a 28-75mm lens the view you get is considered a normal mid-range zoom IF you use it on a FF cam. Using it on an APS-C cam will effectively 'turn' it into a 42-112mm lens. Tell me what use do you have for a 42-112mm f2.8 lens? Might as well get the 50mm f1.4

Even a 24mm is considered a bit cramped for APS-C. That's why all APS-C kitlenses start at 18mm.

For the Alpha, the only Zeiss lens for APS-C is the 16-80mm.

Thus if you really got the 28-75mm lens you will not be able to take wide angle shots. You will need to counter this with buying another ultra wide angle lens like the 11-18mm to cover those range. But the 11-18mm is also an APS-C lens which will have it's functionality reduced when you get a FF.

Thus if you really wanted to get only one lens that you can use now and retain for FF later, you might as well get the Zeiss 16-35mm f2.8. It will be your wide angle to normal view lens for APS-C and will transform into an Ultra Wide Angle lens for the FF.

This post has been edited by shootkk: Aug 4 2009, 02:37 PM

melv : It will have the dark circle because the lens just cannot produce a large enough image area to cover the whole of the FF sensor.

That's the reason why APS-C lenses are smaller and lighter. They do not need to project as large an image area to cover an APS-C sensor.

Why you guys so like to have TT on a weekday? On weekdays 90% sure cannot attend. Can make it on weekend ar?

That's why I'm looking forward to a affordable FF (*hint* A850 *hint*) to be released soon.

It will open up a whole new door to lenses. Kit lens replacement? No problem. You can use a Sigma 28-75 f2.8 or the KM28-75 or the KM 24-85 or the SAL24-105 or the KM 24-105 and the list goes on and that's discounting the premium Zeiss glass.

Want a ultra wide angle? Just get a Sigma 20mm or the SAL20mm and you have a decent ultra wide that you can use for more than landscapes.

The 50mm becomes more than a portrait lens automagically!! You can easily do street shoots with this one lens alone. You wanna travel, just pack the 20mm and the 50mm and you're all set!

If you have a little bit more to spend, get the SAL70300G and you are all set. Your set up:

1. 20mm prime (landscapes, outdoor environmental portraitures, large groups)
2. 50mm prime (street shoots, small groups and normal portraits)
3. 70-300mm (telephoto portraits)

Not one of the lenses exceeding RM3k and you've got most of the things covered! And you get big apertures for 2 out of 3 of your lenses!!!

memorable : You could probably drop either the UWA or the 24-70mm and still won't have much impact.

For wedding you could cover most with:

1. FF on 24-70mm or FF UWA
2. APS-C on 70-200mm

2 bodies and 2 lenses and you're set.

If you don't mind, I'll like to join.

Sony lenses only IINM