ahpingko: I like "Get Caught".

mastering89: LOL it cannot run? Perfect if not for the cropped feet.

evilhomura89: You have dust on your sensor. Also #3 is SO perfect if not for the tide. Would be worth revisiting when the tide is up so you get a shot of it without the sand.

cassplayer: Nice #1.

Codyx: You would not normally need Long Exposure NR in burst mode. Why would you be shooting a series of exposures all longer than 1 second?

evilhomura89: That can work, but using Cleaning Mode means the sensor is not charged and thus not attract more dust.

Codyx: Leave Long Exposure NR on, and Drive mode to continuous. It should be a different setting because I have both on, and it does not interfere with each other.

yuhi: Cute!

8tvt: Then get a wider lens and go in front of him. Really. He could be the official photographer.

I'd say you got the moment. Could have used +0.7 EV in the last 2 shots though. And the haze actually helps make it less contrasty in the background!

zeipher: If you have a light that is too warm, you can cool it down with a blue filter on your lens. This will make exposure times longer, though, but you get a purer, cleaner shot (since shooting at 2500K will increase blue noise, and shooting at 9900K will increase red noise.)

ahpingko: Send it in. Dirt got stuck in the dials.

Your 'Prosperity' shot could be cropped - cut away 1/2 from the right, and 1/3 from the top.

Other shots are nice!

zeipher:

When tungsten is too warm, it is usually street light. However, putting a blue filter gel on the street light is not as practical as putting a blue filter on your lens!

Refer to the first page. M = magenta, G = green.

8tvt: The official photographer doesn't have to look very official and does not need to wear a vest. So you can't assume that he is not, or that he is, just because he wears a vest.

LOL #2 fail!

ahpingko: Sony Service Center is in Midvalley Northpoint.

Show us a picture with EXIF?

zstan: RM3 lah.

I like how the shot shows how you feel under the lanterns. It's not claustrophobic enough though.

Codyx: Aiyah you are not going to be using continuous and long exposures at the same time lah. Don't worry about it. Are you sure you're not confusing it with High ISO NR?

Also, the A550 has a lot of that are disabled when certain features are enabled. In fact I'd say the A550 started this whole 'menu disabled' thing and brought it to a whole new degree.

fansoption: Nice #1!

kopitiam: Hmmm it almost has that ultra-wide angle feel. I like how you keep the boat and house small in the picture.

kuro0314: What exactly do you intend to shoot with the 70-400mm?

evilhomura89: Nice cactus shot!

zstan: The Sony 85mm F2.8 SAM is cheap.

And yes, same here, lens hoods waste time, lens caps waste time. Lens filters save time and they do increase contrast on certain lenses.

Flash in bounce position does not automatically zoom your flash head, unfortunately.

I always prefer wireless flash from the top - from bottom gives this creepy feeling.

lwliam: LOL scary!

Cheap filters do have a color cast. I still remember the KEEP ones looking a fair bit magenta... and it wasn't a UV Skylight filter!

Also, cheap filters reduce transmission and reduce contrast.

ahpingko: Underexposure with flash, is because the Sony Alphas like to underexpose so your highlights aren't all white.

kopitiam: Nice one with the 50mm F1.8, I am hungry!

ieR: Daylight-balanced flourescent still has a bit of green, unfortunately.

lwliam: Man I hope nobody registered just for goodie bags - some people really do want to see the talks!

Nice puppy shot.

The chef needs some clarity from the background. I would have preferred to have a light come from the right as well.

Love the airplane framing!

wingster: Whoa that cake is rich. Could have a better angle though.

The best option would be a FF NEX - that will take everything!

puppydogpoo: How about a variant where there is an ice bucket, and only the condensed milk can is sitting inside?

eddybeh: I actually think the bars in front of #2 add character to the picture. The peacock looks like a flasher behind jail.

virginslayer: To be honest, dSLRs will not last long in the market.

Mirrorless and translucent mirror technologies will take over. In the end, everything will be mirrorless.

The dSLR format as we know it, will eventually be rare, like the TLR (seen one of those boxes with 2 lenses?) and the rangefinder. To put it this way:

dSLR = petrol car
SLT = hybrid car
Mirrorless = electric car

Codyx: fansoption is correct though - there is a lag in the flash signal on the A33/A55.

I like how you've managed to get subtle bokeh on the model, though the background isn't the best lah.

8tvt: Looks like you could Photoshop out the leaf in front of the lizard.

The salad not so appetizing.

I like the 3rd bird shot.

shootkk: Nice #2 and #3 with the metal ball!

azamnecrone has documented how to change the F42 hotshoe and where to get it, over at Alphanatics.

fansoption: I prefer the Sigma 70-200mm OS HSM. The first HSM Macro was weak at 200mm. Though if I had to buy a Sigma tele it would be the 50-150mm F2.8 EX DC OS HSM.

evilhomura89: Overdone on the clouds. It would look nice as a plain sunny day shot!

arc1414: Nice cat portrait!

ProX: It would help to use a bright aperture and high ISO to keep your F58 from draining battery. 8 AA Eneloops can last me a morning and evening shoot.

ahpingko: Windows Photo Viewer probably uses the embedded JPG thumbnail that your Alpha inserts in the RAW file. Of course, the thumbnail is not used in any RAW processor program.

Nice #1 and #2 but #3 and #5 not quite right. Also like Istana Kehakiman (without so much tilt, as the bottom-left corner is distracting.) And of course the last staircase shot.

clivengu: Well done with the light on the Gundam!

ryugan: The tilt is a bit weird lah.

azamunekurone: Confem you punya anak! Mirip wei.

richrich: I don't actually make these userbars - I just took over this thread from the previous starter. However if anyone is free, can they do it? I'll put it in the front page.

chiahau: I would disagree - the 85mm F2.8 SAM makes a tiny stage-worthy telephoto for sneaking into concerts with an APS-C body.

kysham: Niiice umbrella shot!

ieR: If all that is different is that the EV is brought up from RAW, that's not considered 'heavy editing', as even from a RAW to on-camera JPG the difference can be a few EV and an underexposed ISO200 shot can be a properly exposed ISO1600 shot!

Also I would say the shot is good, even if there is that light there - you can't have a light without any logical source, right?

lwliam: Probably could try another, from above and right? I would've preferred a bounce flash for a more traditional result - at least the face won't melt into the background due to the warm light.

This post has been edited by albnok: Feb 22 2011, 01:23 AM

Newbieeeeee: Steady!

azamunekurone: Wah, first time hearing about the 16-105mm getting gear stripping! So we will be cursed with a SAM in the next iteration.

Newbieeeeee: With all due respect to goldfries - while he is experienced, he is not up to speed and aware of certain details of the Sony Alpha system and I have on occasion spotted inaccuracies.

Anyway, the A33 and A55 have a stabilized viewfinder, which is apparent when recording video. Can't remember if it activates when the shutter is half-pressed, though.

In-lens stabilization has its optical drawbacks as well. All the light needs to pass through a smaller IS lens group. Without IS, the optical design avoids narrowing the light path. You can find people saying the non-IS 70-200mm F2.8 L is sharper than the L IS (but I don't know how the new L IS II compares to the non-IS.) You can also find people saying that the IS does things to your bokeh.

You won't see in-lens stabilization in certain lens designs e.g. the 50mm F1.4 because the lens is just filled up with glass.

lwliam: The "in-lens is tuned to lens" argument is usually stated without knowing that in-body stabilization does take into account the focal length. The longer the focal length, the more the sensor moves.

So, in-body stabilization is also tuned to the lens used.

This post has been edited by albnok: Feb 23 2011, 06:12 PM

lwliam: Indeed - Olympus and Pentax do a more empowering job. They let you enter the focal length (on certain bodies) so the in-body stabilization will work on unchipped lenses as well.

8tvt: The focal length you enter is only one value. Since the lens is unchipped anyway, it has no way to tell the Olympus or Pentax what the focal length is LOL.

So what people do is they pick the most commonly used focal length of an unchipped zoom lens, or the halfway point, e.g. 140mm for a 70-210mm F4.5-5.6.

This is because Olympus and Pentax support their manual-focus lenses - Olympus sells an adapter for OM Zuiko to Four-Thirds mount. Pentax K-mount lenses can be manual focus also because they did not change the mount when going from MF to AF (like the Nikon F mount.) Pentax also sells an M42 to K-mount adapter, as M42 is often called the "Pentax M42 screw mount".

lwliam: Yes there are unchipped manual focus zoom lenses.

cassplayer: So where did you spot this chick?

fansoption: Interestingly, I thought it was some weird tree until I read the text. Well done with the rotation!

azamunekurone: The 16-80mm also I haven't heard - as far as I know it only has focus clutch problems (cannot manual focus) and affects much older batches.

yuhi: Uhhh the yellow tint might be the Canon body and how it responds to green leaves. The Canons are less able to differentiate red from green. Also, Canon's greens are less vibrant (though, in a X-Rite Color Checker Passport, it seems to be more accurate.)

Also CDAF is slow - to be fair to the 60D you'd use it in PDAF.

Newbieeeee: On the A33/A55 you can press AF then use the D-pad to change the selected AF point in Local Area AF.

Codyx: Well even in OVF you cannot tell what the output with flash is going to be.

lwliam: Nice natural vignette!

mastering89: Nice! If you sweep panorama with the 50mm F1.4 you get an angle of view which is more than the regular APS-C view. If you do enough you can get medium-format like bokeh!

shootkk: Well done!

zstan: Nice color and bokeh!

ieR: That lighting looks quite... evil. It would usually be your job to make her look better, right? Bad angle maaan!

ahpingko: Bump up the Vibrance in Lightroom. It interprets colors differently - less vibrant reds.

fansoption: Interesting how you have the center reflecting in the Macau Island shot.

Codyx: Unconventional framing of the Petronas Twin Towers, not sure I like it.

ahpingko: No point also converting from RAW to TIFF unless you want to make a good backup. TIFF is just a high quality JPG without the ability to retweak your WB etc.

mintii: Nice #2! Now if only the thing on the right was not in the scene.

lanusb: For the best bokeh, get the Sony 135mm F2.8/T4.5 Smooth Transition Focus. However it will be too long for PC Fair range shooting - PC Fair is easier with a 35mm F1.8. A cheap and practical telephoto option would be the 85mm F2.8.

chiahau: Yes, the 85mm F2.8 is good! Have you tried it?

lanusb: The 85mm F2.8 is sharp wide open. Go try it at a Sony Style.

wingster: Nice history filter!

zstan: Well done! I like that it doesn't look like a thin strip of focus.

ahpingko: You need to master your wireless before you use the reflector, if you plan to use wireless flash as the highlight, and the reflector to bounce the flash as a soft main light. A plain white one works; silver ones may be too reflective.

8tvt: Can barely make it out - crop more?

Codyx: Errr I prefer YMC's because you can see the colors of the night sky. However you could then overlay a "digital GND" (Google it) to darken the tower.

empty-ball: Kesian the lizard's tail got cropped. Maybe you could go lower so you make it look taller and bigger.

Also, what's with the hate towards Newbieeeeee, guys? You know who you are.

I'd like to think the reason why people like it here, in the Sony Alpha Thread, is that we are nicer to n00bs - we don't force them to go into a separate thread! At the same time we can give and receive constructive criticism without getting butthurt.

Those of us who have been around this thread a long time, will eventually get tired of explaining the same beginner concepts to every new person who comes in.

It is totally normal, but let's not go "aiya more n00bs fedup lah!"

That is why we leave it to the former newbies, to explain to the newbies. That way, the former newbie gains more experience by being able to teach. At the same time, the way the former newbie explains, is sometimes easier to understand!

At the same time, those who have been around can also correct the former newbie if he/she is not technically correct.

I would rather, if one person asks a difficult question, anybody who doesn't know says "I don't know" and leaves it to someone who can, as opposed to someone just simply answering because "I think so lah".

Again, Uncle Google and Aunt Wikipedia are here to help - if you're not sure, you can always cross-check. It is good practice.

ahpingko: Reflector only, also can, but if you can use both, even better!

In before the topic closes!

yuhi: Yeah that's what I was saying - except I said "those who have been around" instead of "sifu" because really... I don't believe I am a sifu, and there are many more people who talk about cameras at my technical level, over at http://www.dyxum.com/. Even higher is over at http://minolta-forum.de/.

eddybeh: Nicely done, but surely you could find a better subject i.e. a human!

ahpingko: Well that Lonely picture is rather creepy. But well done.

kysham: Beercan FTW!

puppydogpoo: LOVE the framing! Superb cropping.

zstan: A bit too warm and well there is no mystery in this shot. She is giving the mystery faraway look.

shukrie: I like the second shot of her. Fantastic color!

gjtan: I like how her face is defined by the side light. A minor tweak I'd highly recommend, is to brighten the top part so the picture is evenly saturated.