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Author Topic: Hi all, new guy here just the forum. I do have beginner ??'s about equipment  (Read 5201 times)

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RM

« on: January 29, 2008, 15:20 »
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While researching new dslr's I learned of Microstock photography and have become inspired.  Now I know there will be quite a learning curve for me to produce quality.  However,  I know I need a strong foundation.  Would appreciate advice on particular equipment.  My photography interests will be family portraits,headshots(I pay over 1k a year now to a photographer for my daughters photos and family photos) of course would also begin taking photos for Microstock.  I will be purchasing a Canon XTI(still cannot decide who to purchase from,any advice?),as far as lens Im looking at the 50mm Canon 1.8(is this could for portrait and headshots?) also torn between the 28-55 IS lens and the 28-135 USM IS lens(for everyday use.)  any opinions?  Thinking of buying from Amazon as they have these in stock and do not charge delivery.  Just nervous about mail order. 


« Reply #1 on: January 29, 2008, 16:07 »
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  My photography interests will be family portraits,headshots....  Im looking at the 50mm Canon 1.8(is this could for portrait and headshots?)

I'm not a Canon user, so I cannot entirely answer your questions.

I've heard that their 50mm 1.8 is an awesome lens, nice and fast, very reasonably priced.  I've heard landscape photographers swear by it.   But, I believe a true portrait lens though is between 85 and 105 though for the most flattering portraits.  (Yet I mostly use my 55!)

You are entering into a long-term relationship with your brand when you start buying lenses.  If you believe you will be with Canon for life I would suggest you purchase the very best that you can afford.  A quality lens will stay in your kit for years, maybe decades and your Canon bodies will come and go.   

There is just no comparison between small, compact zoom lenses and a nice peice of 2.8 glass.   If you purchase - say a 3.5/5.6 zoom you may quickly outgrow it and need a faster lens.    I'm speaking from experience here!

I go to the Internet and make a price list from all the stores across the country and take it into my dealer.  They can usually beat the best price.  (You may have to deal with the store manager though.)   If you have any issues with the product, it is easier to deal with someone in your own town than shipping it back to Amazon.  Some of your local stores may have a price match policy as well.   (I got back $200 on my previous camera.) 

Microstock is quite rewarding, and you will find everyone here is very helpful and encouraging.  Good luck.

RM

« Reply #2 on: January 29, 2008, 16:18 »
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Thank you, for the advice.  The only camera store I have near me is Wolf/Ritz they will not match Amazon pricing and nobody else sells the Canon XTI camera body only.  Was going to go body only and purchase better lens for the camera.  Going with a place like Amazon and only buying product they stock is an amazing savings but the trade off is that its not brick and mortar.

« Reply #3 on: January 29, 2008, 16:30 »
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have you checked out bhphoto?

i don't know which country you're in but they ship most everywhere.  Great supply of equipment, good prices and quick shipping.

the 50 1.8 would be a great lens to start with.  for the second lens - if it came between getting a cheaper body and a more expensive lens, i would pick up the better lens.  You will be wanting to upgrade your body in a year or two anyhow, while lenses stay basically the same.

RM

« Reply #4 on: January 29, 2008, 17:26 »
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hi,looked on photo.net forums and saw so many complaints about bh so didnt want to order from there.  as far as lens.  the 50 mm is a definate.  just torn between the 28-55 or the 28-35 dont mind spending money now on either one.  which would be better say for headshots?

« Reply #5 on: January 29, 2008, 17:45 »
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Have you tried www.adorama.com?  It's not a reference directly from me, but I always price check there, and I've heard a lot refer it.

28-55 would be better for portaits than 28-35.  If you get too close and too wide the features closest to the camera distort.  For example - the nose will be closer to your lens - and it will be unnaturally large.  You can step back with a longer lens and there is less of this dramatic distortion.  I use my 15-55, and try to keep it at the 55 end.   This season I'm busy taking hockey portraits and have to make sure their stick is close to their skate.  If it is between me and them it looks HUGE, and makes the photo awkward.

RM

« Reply #6 on: January 29, 2008, 19:07 »
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great advice.  so may I ask what is the 50mm 1.8 good for?  what is the best length portrait lens and what is best for a true headshot?  I dont mind spending money.  of course dont want to spend more than I have to but just want to be safe. 

« Reply #7 on: January 29, 2008, 21:16 »
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This question was polled on this Canon forum, the portrait lens with the most votes was your Canon 50mm 1.8... (But keep in mind that many of the voters own ONLY this lens, so the votes would be slightly skewed.)

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=58577


5 pages of comments on the subject in that posting, let us know what you conclude!

In film days the ideal portrait lens was 85mm - 105mm.  (What would that be with digital cropping?  50 - 65ish?)

Something that might also factor into your decision is do you have the space in your shooting area to back up?   You may need a shorter length just to get a full body shot!  I read a few of the posts here and there, and a lot of replies use a 70-200 lens.  I could only do headshots in my space here (and the longer the lens, the more it flattens the face as well).

« Reply #8 on: January 29, 2008, 21:54 »
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As far as an all purpose zoom goes, then there are several options, depending on the price that you want to pay, and what you want to shoot.

If you don't mind heavy , and are happy to pay a lot of money, and are willing to forego the wide end, the classic portrait/general purpose zoom is the Canon 24-75 2.8 L. It's fast enough and good enough quality to serve as a single lens solution for someone who is primarily a portait photographer. The Tamron 28-75 2.8 (I think that's the range) is lighter and smaller and not quite as wide, but has a very good reputation for image quality.

If you are going to stick to a crop sensor camera for the foreseable future and want to go out to 17mm, for landscape or interior shots then the best Canon offering as a zoom would be the EF17-55 2.8 IS. Good quality but expensive. Tamron do a well regarded but non IS over the same focal range for less bucks.

Further down the pecking order are the consumer zooms - I have the 17-85IS which is a fabulous range, but makes rather a lot of compromises on image quality. I've got a lot of stock shots taken with it, but they have all needed post processing to remove the chromatic aberration. I've also seen (personally) and heard reports of there being a lot of variability in this lens as far as image quality goes - my copy is much much sharper than some other samples I've seen. The 28-135IS is an older design, similar image quality, less good IS. The new kit lens (18-55IS) and it's longer range brother 55-25IS look suprisingly good on paper (and online samples I've found)  for their price, but I've not used them .

As far as portrait lenses go - if you get a slower consumer zoom then fast primes are a good, and not terribly expensive additional purchase. I have the 50mm 1.8 , 100mm macro and 85 1.8. All take really good portraits. Another option, useful for stock would be the EF-S 60mm macro - it's both a very good portrait lens plus very useful for closeups and still life (microstock staples!) as well as true 1:1 macro.


RM

« Reply #9 on: January 29, 2008, 22:50 »
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Wow,so much to think about.  I do appreciate everyone putting up with all my questions and helping me out.  I do know what I am totally sold on.  The XTI body and the 50mm 1.8. Lots of value for the money and will most likely give me decent headshots and portraits.  As far as the zooms dont mind spending the money on the 28-135 IS USM but is it a good everyday lens and could it be used for microstock?  The 28-55 IS lens would probably be easier to walk around with as an everyday but will I miss the longer zoom and would this be better for microstock?  Was everyone this crazy when deciding on an initial purchase or am I the only nutty one.  I havent even discussed software(I have Adobe PS 7 is that ok for microstock) if so I better learn how to use it.  Should I get one of those Wacom Tablets I read about?

RT


« Reply #10 on: January 30, 2008, 07:55 »
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Traditionally 85mm was considered the ultimate portraiture lens because it gives the most true to life representation of a human face, all lenses slightly distort the image because of the curvature in the glass, however that would be paying unbelievable attention to detail.
The other consideration as to why 85mm is the best is down to DOF, DOF increases the further you are away from a subject for any given aperture, in other words if you filled your frame with a headshot using a 50mm lens at f11 you'd get less DOF than you would filling the frame using an 85mm at the same aperture, you could argue that why not use a 200mm then, that where sharpness comes into it.
Canon produce the ultimate 85mm 1.2 lens for this very purpose, but at 1300 I'd imagine it's out of your price range.

Like I say though, thats paying the ultimate attention to detail and is for full frame cameras, the 50mm 1.8 is a great 'throw away' lens and you will get good images with it, I don't use a cropped sensor so can't comment on that side of things.

Regards to your last comment, yes PS7 should serve you well initially, and I personally couldn't live without a Wacom tablet.



RM

« Reply #11 on: January 30, 2008, 08:57 »
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The tablets come with Photoshop Elements is that something that may be easier to learnd than Photoshop 7.0?  I have had that PS7 forever and never even opened the box.  As far as that 85mm I dont mind spending the money.  Just thought a zoom would be better for walking around and more versatile for everyday use and microstock phootography.  So the toss up being 18-55mm IS($185.00) or 28-135 IS USM($420.00) what would you do? 

« Reply #12 on: January 30, 2008, 13:26 »
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I use the 28/135 which is very good for all kind of situations. 55 is a bit short. With a 28/135 you cover 90% of your everyday needs.

At least, when you are working with film or "full frame" sensor.

RM

« Reply #13 on: January 30, 2008, 17:38 »
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Do you lose a lot of sharpness say using the 28-135 as compared to the 85mm.  What do most people use as a good all around microstock lens?  Weather it be close up photos of an apple or people running on the beach?  Will that 28-135 cover the whole gambit?  Was anybody else as crazy as me with all these questions?


 

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