That's the cobra la...

moo : You can't win 'em all. There's bound to be some drawbacks somewhere. It's aimed more to fill in a gap in the camera development line rather than anything at this point in time. Give it some time and it may become mainstream in future.. who knows..

F20 can only be wireless commander on A700/A850/A900. On other models it is just a glorified pop-up that can bounce.

Meaning you cannot trigger the F20 off camera no matter what cam you're using.

gouki : Whoops! My mistake... F20 cannot be commander on A700...

soket : Do your pictures come out ok? If they do then, it should not be the Steady shot problem.

Look through your viewfinder and look at the SSS indicator. Is it always full bars and flashing? If it is then it is a SSS failure and you need to send your cam in for servicing.

In the mean time, you can still take pics. Just turn the SSS to off.

If you find that your lens have difficulty focusing to and from infinity, then it may be a case of gear stripping of your lens. Solution, use another lens or use manual focus if you do not have another lens.

Then go buy another lens to replace the kitty lens.

The only choice you have is the a850 plus CZ 24-70mm...

noprob : 16-35mm although is very good lens it is a UWA range lar... cannot cover normal range like the 24-70mm

FF 16mm is WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDE!

[G]ood_Day : **** Turning uncle mode to ON *****

Take this advise from this uncle lar... finish your studies is Business and IT first. It's a good course and you really do not have to stay in the office if you find the right kind of job. IT is a huge field.

Photography is fun when you're having it as a hobby. When you want to earn a living from it, it's not so fun anymore. It's hard work and most of the time you're unappreciated.

Competition is stiff and if you don't really stand out, you're in for a hard time. People here in M'sia still have very low perception and respect for people dealing in arts like artists, authors and photographers. They think what you do is 'cheap' and most of the time are not willing to pay for services rendered.

Wedding photography? It's a hard job. You work your ass off and they expect you to do it for free! You know what they actually think? 'Take pictures only mah, so difficult meh? I can get my <insert favourite relative or friend> to do it for free also, why need to pay you so much?'

They want the best pictures but when you ask them what kind of pictures they want, they have no idea and say that you're the photographer you should know already. What am I? A mind reader? If you go with your own style and they don't like it, they blame you. So it's not about just taking pics, there's also how you deal with clients and settle conflicts. Sometimes they ask for the sky and only want to pay peanuts.

When you're just starting out, it's really difficult. If you charge they question your ability and skills. If you don't charge they take it for granted and it comes back to bite you sometimes. This happens when some of their friends want you to do the job and don't want to pay because you did not charge the first time mah...

So what do you get? A lot of hard work but little monetary rewards. It's not the money that is the main reward here (especially when you're just starting out). It's the satisfaction you get when you've done a good job. Nothing beats a comment like, "Hey! I like the photos you took at the last wedding" from a client.

And also when you're relying on photography to bring in the money, you may need to shoot things that you don't like to shoot just to bring in the money you need to survive. Have you thought about that?

Not to dampened your spirits lar... if you have enough of an interest, you will find a way somehow but just need to tell you a bit of the 'not so good side'. People only tell you their good stories. Seldom do you get to hear about their bad stories.

**** Turning uncle mode to OFF *****

BTW I'm not full time photographer... just part time like whenever there's an offer to do kinda photographer...

Haha! I would not blame you to think that you're working in a happy surrounding in a wedding. The OTHERS may be happy but you as the photographer will not be. Why?

Well for one, you will be much too busy to be happy. You have to get into position BEFORE the moment is lost. You will have to jostle for position against the horde of well-meaning relatives and friends with cameras also wanting to get a shot. They can miss their shot but you CANNOT afford to. While doing so, you also will have to take care NOT to offend them too much as they are the friends and family members of the happy couple. It will not do for them to complain about you in front of them, right? And trust me, some can really get annoying!

After all the hassle and hard work, the couple will tend to forget about you as they are too busy with their own things to do. You will have to co-ordinate the shoot most of the time. Sometimes the couple will forget to take group photos with the most important people like their own parents or grandparents!! It's times like these that you will have to step in and ASK or FORCE (albeit nicely) for the picture to be taken. It will not do to have group pics of all the 'heng tais' and 'ji muis' but NONE of the couple with their parents/grandparents. Even though it is partly their fault to have forgetten, the final blame will be on 100% on YOU! Is that fair? Not really but that's how it is.

So it not so happy after all. You have a very big responsibility to carry out your job and co-ordinate the shoot and make sure no important shots are missing.

Of course at the end of the day one, "Wow!" from the clients and/or members of their family can make up for it all. That's the sense of accomplishment and an acknowledgement of a job well done for you. It's priceless if you have the passion and interest for it.

It means :

"Please accept this bow from your apprentice"

Polish!!?? No, no, no. You can't do that. The lens is covered with a layer of coating. If you polish the lens, it means you're damaging the coating to the lens. This can lead to problems like flaring.

If the scratch is tiny, then most of the time you can just leave it alone. IQ may not even be affected. If you start to polish, it may just render the lens beyond repair.

lencent : I cannot see any obvious flaws in the pic. Perhaps you should try to take a pic out in the bright sun and see.

If you're not too picky, the lens could probably still be used as is. Just how badly scratched is it?

What are you worried about? Are you choosing the camera for yourself or for the friends and/or people around you? Who's going to be using the cam? You or anyone else? If it's you, then all you need to do is convince yourself that your choice is right. You do not have to please anyone else.

All your friends using Canon or Nikon or whatever brand? Who cares? The end result is the picture and not what you use to get the picture. All camera brands can take great pics so it all up to your personal preference.

I always like to ask this question:

If someone were to give you 3 pictures and they are all great pics can you tell which pic came from which brand? Does it really matter?

signither : I have never really found a need for a VG. Then again, I don't have heavy lenses... To each his own I guess.

Yes, that is correct, instead you get the 50mm lens micro-motor-instant-death cases by just putting it front element side down on table.

The Minolta is a 50mm f1.7

If you want to know which one better:

Minolta 50mm f1.7

- solid build with metal mount
- is a full frame lens so you can use in on FF body
- prone to flare
- old design more suited to film
- can only be obtained second hand

Sony 50mm f1.8

- new design for digital
- APS-C lens thus will vignette when used on FF body
- better flare control
- better bokeh some will say


So if you don't intend to go FF anytime soon, then the 50mm f1.8 will be a better choice

Just came back from Bukit Tinggi. Long time never go shooting so went out and gave my Minolta 20mm f2.8 a spin to get the feel of the lens.

Found out that using a UWA lens:

1. You need to be very careful composing your shots. It tends to get everything in and thus will get your shots too cluttered.

2. Need to adjust to the distortion caused by the lens as it will skew your horizon if you're not careful.

UWA is a fun lens but it's difficult to master.

Some shots:



This lens is sharp. No sharpening done on any of the shots but they are taken using F11 mostly.

C&C welcome.

This post has been edited by shootkk: Jun 11 2010, 06:29 PM

A few more shots from Bukit Tinggi series:

1.


2.


3.



Wokeh! Pop quiz time! For the picture below, how do you think I got the shot?

4.

albnok : Haha! You've got half of it correct. I did use flash but I flashed everything BUT the rock and the background.

Used 2 flashes - one camera right and one camera left on the ground. Both with tungsten gel fitted to get the warm look for matching the light in the hut.

F42 on camera left to fill just a bit into the hut. F58 on camera right to light the underside of the roof and the window. Adjusted WB to decrease the orangeness a bit and slow shutter to catch the ambient light outside the hut (it was overcast and the hut was inside a forest surrounded by tall trees).

The A550 is definitely a better buy if for no other reason than the grip alone! If you are going to be serious using a DSLR you WILL be cursing yourself if you buy the A380.

The stupid grip design on the A380 will be a major turn-off to anyone who will be holding the cam for more than 1 hour at a time when shooting.

Having a good grip that is comfortable is vital if you're shooting all day.

If you can then wait for the new A390 - it has a better grip and should be quite similar to the A380 in performance but I do not know when it will be officially released in M'sia.