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NeoGAF Camera Equipment Thread | MK II

mrklaw

MrArseFace
lightroom collecitons. Been a while since I used them, but I have a few for backing up jpeg versions of 4/5 star photos to onedrive and my NAS. But they seem to be taking a really long time and wanted to check if thats normal

I'm using the jr folder publisher plugins, and have a smart collection in there to collate all 4/5 star images, which then get published in tree format based on the original folders. I have 3486 photos in the smart collection, and I added about 65 new ones today, but it still seems to be updating the entire collection - I don't think it is copying them all across, but it is taking almost 30 minutes.

edit: wtf I'm just watching one of them now, and its marking everything as 'modified to be republished'. Why?
 
Any recommendation for lens/sensor cleaning tools?

I have this big chunky piece of dust right on my sensor that doesn't really show up in my videos but it's maddening to know it's there.

I was told some time ago to get a dust blower that cycles air through it because otherwise it can just blow dust into whatever you're trying to clean, not sure if that's true.
 
Get a Giottos Blower:

Giottos_AA1900_Rocket_Air_Blower_259157.jpg


I have the large version of this thing and it's glorious. The only problem is that it's as big as a full size banana so it's not really portable friendly though Giottos sells a small and medium version too.

If that doesn't work, just find a cleaning kit on Amazon. There's a variety of them depending on sensor size so grab the appropriate kit that has the swabs and cleaning fluid. It might seem daunting at first to do but as long as you have a light touch, you'll be fine.
 
I second the Giotto's.

And the swab things. They are like little triangles, with a small bottle of fluid that you dip the corners of the triangle in, and bam, just like a squeegee for your sensor. Just be careful, because you'll be racking your nerves while cleaning it.
 
My FujiFilm X100F has completely blown me away. I haven't done anything serious with it yet but just dinking around taking photos of my apartment and some stuff outdoors has made me realize that the camera is so much more important than having interchangeable lenses.

It's so much better than my old Sony NEX 5N in almost every way except not having lens options. It really is designed for photographers, feels like home. The EVF is fantastic. The digital teleconvertor works remarkably well, retains a lot of sharpness, especially at 50mm equivalent. The dials are heaven, as is the ability to customize button and dial functions on the body. Low light shots beat the NEX by a country mile; the NEX photos always had a much more processed look to me. The noise reduction for high ISOs is excellent.

I will probably get a Fuji MILC at some point now (had been considering A6300), but that's a ways off.
 
My FujiFilm X100F has completely blown me away. I haven't done anything serious with it yet but just dinking around taking photos of my apartment and some stuff outdoors has made me realize that the camera is so much more important than having interchangeable lenses.

It's so much better than my old Sony NEX 5N in almost every way except not having lens options. It really is designed for photographers, feels like home. The EVF is fantastic. The digital teleconvertor works remarkably well, retains a lot of sharpness, especially at 50mm equivalent. The dials are heaven, as is the ability to customize button and dial functions on the body. Low light shots beat the NEX by a country mile; the NEX photos always had a much more processed look to me. The noise reduction for high ISOs is excellent.

I will probably get a Fuji MILC at some point now (had been considering A6300), but that's a ways off.

Well, you *are* jumping from a quite old, low end bargain camera all the way to a premium fixed lens camera, I would absolutely hope that you'd see some huge changes.
 
My FujiFilm X100F has completely blown me away. I haven't done anything serious with it yet but just dinking around taking photos of my apartment and some stuff outdoors has made me realize that the camera is so much more important than having interchangeable lenses.

It's so much better than my old Sony NEX 5N in almost every way except not having lens options. It really is designed for photographers, feels like home. The EVF is fantastic. The digital teleconvertor works remarkably well, retains a lot of sharpness, especially at 50mm equivalent. The dials are heaven, as is the ability to customize button and dial functions on the body. Low light shots beat the NEX by a country mile; the NEX photos always had a much more processed look to me. The noise reduction for high ISOs is excellent.

I will probably get a Fuji MILC at some point now (had been considering A6300), but that's a ways off.
What a glowing review, lol you make me want one.

I was considering a X70 actually cuz I want something small. That or a Ricoh GR.
 

Rentahamster

Rodent Whores
My FujiFilm X100F has completely blown me away. I haven't done anything serious with it yet but just dinking around taking photos of my apartment and some stuff outdoors has made me realize that the camera is so much more important than having interchangeable lenses.

It's so much better than my old Sony NEX 5N in almost every way except not having lens options. It really is designed for photographers, feels like home. The EVF is fantastic. The digital teleconvertor works remarkably well, retains a lot of sharpness, especially at 50mm equivalent. The dials are heaven, as is the ability to customize button and dial functions on the body. Low light shots beat the NEX by a country mile; the NEX photos always had a much more processed look to me. The noise reduction for high ISOs is excellent.

I will probably get a Fuji MILC at some point now (had been considering A6300), but that's a ways off.

The next step is to get a cheapo external flash and trigger, and take shots outside in full daylight wide open with the flash.
 
My FujiFilm X100F has completely blown me away. I haven't done anything serious with it yet but just dinking around taking photos of my apartment and some stuff outdoors has made me realize that the camera is so much more important than having interchangeable lenses.

It's so much better than my old Sony NEX 5N in almost every way except not having lens options. It really is designed for photographers, feels like home. The EVF is fantastic. The digital teleconvertor works remarkably well, retains a lot of sharpness, especially at 50mm equivalent. The dials are heaven, as is the ability to customize button and dial functions on the body. Low light shots beat the NEX by a country mile; the NEX photos always had a much more processed look to me. The noise reduction for high ISOs is excellent.

I will probably get a Fuji MILC at some point now (had been considering A6300), but that's a ways off.
The Fuji stuff is excellent. I just got the vertical grip for my XT2 and it's solid as fuck. This camera is actually pretty damn sexy.
 
Well, you *are* jumping from a quite old, low end bargain camera all the way to a premium fixed lens camera, I would absolutely hope that you'd see some huge changes.

Well, the 5N was $600 body only when I bought it, I don't consider that low-end (or high end) but I did say what I was coming from in the interest of full disclosure.

I don't consider what I posted a review as much as a 'the Fuji hype is real' confirmation. What I'm experiencing matches the glowing reviews found around the web.

Additional disclosure: I also have an original Digital Rebel (don't even want to admit what that cost me) and a Pentax film SLR that I've shot with since the early 90s (but haven't used in 10 years). I've also owned a few Panny and Nikon point-and-shoots over the years but never really took to them. So I got my start on film SLR and DSLR. The X100F feels a lot like a DSLR but small and without interchangeable lenses. It actually feels far more solid than any non-pro DSLR that I've ever held (I have several pro photographer friends, one just won a regional Emmy for photojournalism, another makes his living shooting celeb portraits for magazines, another is a freelance concert photog that travels the world, they always let me check their gear as do all my amateur friends).
 
Well, the 5N was $600 body only when I bought it, I don't consider that low-end (or high end) but I did say what I was coming from in the interest of full disclosure.

I don't consider what I posted a review as much as a 'the Fuji hype is real' confirmation. What I'm experiencing matches the glowing reviews found around the web.

Additional disclosure: I also have an original Digital Rebel (don't even want to admit what that cost me) and a Pentax film SLR that I've shot with since the early 90s (but haven't used in 10 years). I've also owned a few Panny and Nikon point-and-shoots over the years but never really took to them. So I got my start on film SLR and DSLR. The X100F feels a lot like a DSLR but small and without interchangeable lenses. It actually feels far more solid than any non-pro DSLR that I've ever held (I have several pro photographer friends, one just won a regional Emmy for photojournalism, another makes his living shooting celeb portraits for magazines, another is a freelance concert photog that travels the world, they always let me check their gear as do all my amateur friends).

I don't think he was criticizing your previous camera. However you stated that the body is more important than the glass. That opinion is not common.
 
I don't think he was criticizing your previous camera. However you stated that the body is more important than the glass. That opinion is not common.

That was poorly phrased. You can't correct for poor optics (minus basic stuff like barrel distortion and pincushioning, which can of course largely be fixed digitally and sometimes automatically). What I meant mainly (and didn't state well) was that no matter what amazing glass I put on the Sony, it can't change the fact that the camera user interface hamstrings me compared to the interface of the Fujifilm camera. My apologies for any confusion.

I do think it's fair to compare cameras of different generations and tiers on user interface and controls. It is of course less fair to compare on image quality. I do feel that the raves the older Sony Alpha cameras got for low light performance was a bit generous as they did have a bit of a processed look. Not sure how newer cameras like the A6300 compare.

The Fujifilm camera gives me an amazing interface and controls, but of course limits me to to the stock 35mm equivalent glass, which is fast and super sharp but still a major constraint.
 

Rentahamster

Rodent Whores
Latest update on rumored Nikon D850 specs:

https://nikonrumors.com/2017/08/12/nikon-d850-specifications-recap.aspx/#more-114705

45.75MP full frame CMOS sensor
New and improved version of SnapBridge
No built-in GPS
Tiltable LCD (3.2", 2.36 million dots)
Fully functional touchscreen: supports touch AF, touch shutter and touch menu
Memory card slots: one SD and one XQD
AF system from the D5 (153 points, 130% frame coverage compared to the D810, all AF points @ -3EV, middle/center crosshair sensor @-4EV)
New smaller AF point
No built-in flash
Back illuminated buttons
Joystick selector
Built-in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi
8K time-lapse video capabilities
4k UHD video in FX format (with no crop)
No EVF or hybrid viewfinder
Slo-mo full HD 120fps video
The SD slot will support UHS-II
Improved LiveView split-screen display
Improved silent shooting mode: fully-silent, no-sound electronic shutter in live view (no mechanical movement, can shoot up to 30fps @ 8MP with the electronic shutter)
Improved battery life
Lighter than the D810
Native ISO range: 64-25,600
ISO 64 extendable down to ISO 32 (Lo1 = 32, Hi 2 = 108,400)
7fps without grip, 9fps with grip (MB-D18a battery grip)
51 images raw buffer at 14-bit RAW
0.75x optical viewfinder (largest ever on a Nikon FX cameras)
180k RGB meter
No AA filter
Supports for Nikon wireless trigger WT-7
Fully-silent, no-sound electronic shutter in live view (6 fps silent shooting)
Built-in focus stacking: up to 300 pictures with up to 10 levels of focusing steps (still need external software)
Price will be CNY 23,999 or around $3,600 (source: Chinese forum)
Announcement date could be August 16th
RAW sizes: small, medium, large
New 1:1 mode
New natural light AWB


Not bad, but is it enough to get D800 and D810 owners to upgrade? I probably won't get it. $3,600 is a bit much.
 

Ty4on

Member
A bit of a shame it requires the grip for the full speed, but 46MP at 9fps is quite impressive. Hopefully dynamic range is top notch too so we have a fast shooter without an image quality trade-off.
 

Rentahamster

Rodent Whores
A bit of a shame it requires the grip for the full speed, but 46MP at 9fps is quite impressive. Hopefully dynamic range is top notch too so we have a fast shooter without an image quality trade-off.

That's the only thing I'm interested in and would get me to seriously consider an upgrade. Everything else is a side thought.
 
46mpix at 9fps or 24mpix at 20fps, how are people handling the amount of data without going insane? Those sad sports photographers lol

I shoot single shoot, always, and I get 20gig a day easily and its a fucking nightmare already.

I was always under the impression that the secondary reason for the resolution of the D5s of the world is that they stay manageable.

To me raising megapixel counts have become a burden more then they are helpful, but I rarely crop or print wall sized stuff.
 
Played around a bit with a Fuji XT2, XT20 and X100F today. Man, only the XT2 had a nice enough grip. I felt like I was going to drop the 100F.

I was surprised how much smaller the 20 was than the 2. Otherwise they were fun to mess around with a bit. The hybrid viewfinder on the 100F was super cool.
 

Ty4on

Member
That's the only thing I'm interested in and would get me to seriously consider an upgrade. Everything else is a side thought.
Wouldn't surprise me if it's roughly the same. Seems like they're not really pushing it like they used to (or hit a soft limit).
46mpix at 9fps or 24mpix at 20fps, how are people handling the amount of data without going insane? Those sad sports photographers lol

I shoot single shoot, always, and I get 20gig a day easily and its a fucking nightmare already.

I was always under the impression that the secondary reason for the resolution of the D5s of the world is that they stay manageable.

To me raising megapixel counts have become a burden more then they are helpful, but I rarely crop or print wall sized stuff.
I feel like this is someone else's problem to fix. Software like Lightroom is too slow.
Pixel count and data rate hasn't really hasn't improved that much all things considered. The 5D from 2005 was 12MP at 3fps. Slow, but not that much slower considering the technical progress we've had. In 2006 the base MacBook had a 60GB HDD and maxed out at just 250GB. The 2005 Power Mac G5 maxed out at just 250GB too (you could of course add more afterwards).
 

Rentahamster

Rodent Whores
Wouldn't surprise me if it's roughly the same. Seems like they're not really pushing it like they used to (or hit a soft limit).

I'm going to guess the same if not slightly less, unless they got some of dat secret sauce. The pixel pitch is getting smaller after all, when going from 36 to 46 MP. Not by much though.
 
Played around a bit with a Fuji XT2, XT20 and X100F today. Man, only the XT2 had a nice enough grip. I felt like I was going to drop the 100F.

I was surprised how much smaller the 20 was than the 2. Otherwise they were fun to mess around with a bit. The hybrid viewfinder on the 100F was super cool.
The base XT2 is fine enough too me, but it gets greatly improved when you add the vertical grip since thickens up the side grip nicely. Frankly I think most cameras need them any way.
 

RuGalz

Member
The base XT2 is fine enough too me, but it gets greatly improved when you add the vertical grip since thickens up the side grip nicely. Frankly I think most cameras need them any way.

It's ironic that I always have to bulk up milc for ergonomic reasons. It pretty much loses half of the size and weight advantage.
 
It's ironic that I always have to bulk up milc for ergonomic reasons. It pretty much loses half of the size and weight advantage.
I know right?!! It's still smaller...at least lighter than my gripped D7100, but I'm used to carrying around bulk so I don't even care.
 

RuGalz

Member
I know right?!! It's still smaller...at least lighter than my gripped D7100, but I'm used to carrying around bulk so I don't even care.

Yea. I don't use a grip on my DSLR so the difference is even smaller. This is the difference normally: http://j.mp/2uPqMia

FujiFilm X-E2 is 2% (2.5 mm) narrower and 25% (25.1 mm) shorter than Pentax K-3.
FujiFilm X-E2 is 52% (40.3 mm) thinner than Pentax K-3.
FujiFilm X-E2 [350 g] weights 56% (450 grams) less than Pentax K-3 [800 g] (*inc. batteries and memory card).

The grip on my X-E2 adds a bit of width and height so width is about the same, the height is maybe 10mm shorter.

The weight difference is about 400g after including the weight of the grip, but considering IBIS on my K-3 adds about 250g, which is a desirable feature to me, the real difference is only 150g. (not even counting the DSLR having a larger battery, weather sealing, etc)

The biggest difference is just the thickness, obviously, due to mirror box. But with hand grip protruding from X-E2, it's closer to 20mm difference.

Overall I'm just not saving that much weight and space.
 

giga

Member
Contemplating an upgrade from my 5D2 to either the 5D3 or XT2. Anyone know which lenses this is referring to? Primarily looking at lenses at/near f/1.4.

https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujifilm-x-t2/8

However, there are two substantial caveats to this positivity. Fujifilm expressly prioritized image quality over AF performance with its early lenses (particularly the wide-aperture primes) and these simply can't move their focus elements fast enough to take advantage of the X-T2's capabilities. As such, you'll only experience the camera's full performance with a select sub-set of the system's lenses. As well as failing to refocus quickly enough to keep up with subject movement towards or away from the camera, slower focusing lenses also delay the initial 'lock,' making subject tracking mode almost unusable.

Focusing on my ancient 5D2 with a Sigma 35 or Canon 85/1.8 is pretty damn quick and I'd rather not downgrade if I need to. If I stick with Canon, I'd definitely get a 135L too.
 

giga

Member
Alright maybe I'll just go with my original plan of getting the X100F for casual use.

5D III vs 6D2? Lol the 6D2 doesn't have an AF joystick? Jesus.
 
Contemplating an upgrade from my 5D2 to either the 5D3 or XT2. Anyone know which lenses this is referring to? Primarily looking at lenses at/near f/1.4.

https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujifilm-x-t2/8



Focusing on my ancient 5D2 with a Sigma 35 or Canon 85/1.8 is pretty damn quick and I'd rather not downgrade if I need to. If I stick with Canon, I'd definitely get a 135L too.
Fuji's F2 lenses are pretty damn fast AF wise and do a better job of taking advantage of the XT2's AF capabilities. The 1.4 lenses are more for portraiture in my opinion than they are for street photography. You should probably get the 23mm or 35mm F2 and dedicate it to street photography and get the 56 1.2 and dedicate that for portraiture. I haven't heard any complaints regarding the 2.8 zooms regarding AF and I heard the 90mm F2 is pretty quick as well.
For picture proof. These are people walking passed me and I got these using the 35 F2:
DSCF5652 by Marcus Beasley, on Flickr
DSCF5610 by Marcus Beasley, on Flickr
I just fire off a burst in CH and at least one or two are bound to be in focus, this was without the added grip performance. Non LM isn't as bad as they say and there are even lenses with tri-linear motors which should be faster.
Alright maybe I'll just go with my original plan of getting the X100F for casual use.

5D III vs 6D2? Lol the 6D2 doesn't have an AF joystick? Jesus.
The 6D2 is stillborn, don't touch it. Regarding the XT2 do research on the lenses. I'm not really sure what you shoot, but there's a lens for everything...also get the battery grip.
 

giga

Member
Fuji's F2 lenses are pretty damn fast AF wise and do a better job of taking advantage of the XT2's AF capabilities. The 1.4 lenses are more for portraiture in my opinion than they are for street photography. You should probably get the 23mm or 35mm F2 and dedicate it to street photography and get the 56 1.2 and dedicate that for portraiture. I haven't heard any complaints regarding the 2.8 zooms regarding AF and I heard the 90mm F2 is pretty quick as well.

The 6D2 is stillborn, don't touch it. Regarding the XT2 do research on the lenses. I'm not really sure what you shoot, but there's a lens for everything...also get the battery grip.
Still contemplating if it's worth it.

body, XT2: 1600
walkaround, 23/2: 450
portraits, 56/1.2: 1000
landscapes/arch, 10-24: 1000

$4000

compared to what i already have now

5d2
sigma 35 1.4
canon 85 1.8
canon 17-40

I don't have any issues with my lenses, just want better AF and iso performance. So i'm thinking I could sell my 5D2 for like $600 or so and spend $1400 more on a refurb 5D3.
 
Still contemplating if it's worth it.

body, XT2: 1600
walkaround, 23/2: 450
portraits, 56/1.2: 1000
landscapes/arch, 10-24: 1000

$4000

compared to what i already have now

5d2
sigma 35 1.4
canon 85 1.8
canon 17-40

I don't have any issues with my lenses, just want better AF and iso performance. So i'm thinking I could sell my 5D2 for like $600 or so and spend $1400 more on a used/refurb 5D3.
Yeah if you don't want to start fresh then just get a 5D3. I like my Fuji stuff a lot though even if I am still getting used to it. It's a great secondary system since I'm not exactly jumping ship here. Granted if I can get it to the point where it takes over for my D600 as my secondary event camera then fine since the AF on that is poor.
 
If the D850's dynamic range is also class leading, I'll be retiring my trusty D800e.

The only hesitation would be if we find out more about the potential curved sensor for the future mirrorless Nikon.
 

Rentahamster

Rodent Whores
If the D850's dynamic range is also class leading, I'll be retiring my trusty D800e.

The only hesitation would be if we find out more about the potential curved sensor for the future mirrorless Nikon.

Is that a thing? That would be neat if Nikon or someone does make that technology. It could be revolutionary for lens design since they wouldn't have to try to make the light rays parallel anymore as they exit out the back of the lens. It could also make for a small flange distance. But the focal length might have to stay fixed so it might only be good for a non-interchangeable lens camera? I'm not sure, I don't think I know enough about the really technical aspects of lens design to speculate more haha.
 
Got this lens in the mail yesterday:

O658bqOh.jpg


It's a Tokina AT-X PRO 28-70mm f/2.8.

I briefly mentioned this lens in the thread a week or two ago and yesterday it showed up unannounced actually. The friend of a friend who was selling it shipped it to me just so I can test it out the next couple of weeks and I gotta say, I really like it... to the point that I already paid him for it haha.

The biggest reason why he's selling it is coz the zoom ring is sticky around 28-50mm... it requires just a little bit more force to get it to turn but it doesn't seem to affect anything else about the lens. Also infinity focus at f/2.8 seems wack, as in it doesn't focus at all, but dropping it down to f/8 and it's suddenly sharp so I guess it's not really an issue actually.

Beyond that, it's seriously a keeper. I'm taken some shots around my house and it's really nice. f/2.8 is sharp(outside of infinity that is lol), and the colors coming from this are beautiful... I feel like you don't need to do much processing to get it to look good. What's also nice is that it's all metal and it feels a little lighter than my Vivitar 28-90.
 

Ty4on

Member
The biggest reason why he's selling it is coz the zoom ring is sticky around 28-50mm... it requires just a little bit more force to get it to turn but it doesn't seem to affect anything else about the lens. Also infinity focus at f/2.8 seems wack, as in it doesn't focus at all, but dropping it down to f/8 and it's suddenly sharp so I guess it's not really an issue actually.

Like it doesn't quite reach infinity or the infinity stop is too late?
 
Like it doesn't quite reach infinity or the infinity stop is too late?

Yeah, it feels like I need another half-inch of travel to hit infinity but the focus ring indicates I'm already on it already.

On the other hand, the focus peaking on A7 says it's actually in focus already so maybe I'm just being nitpicky lol.
 

GuessWho

Member
What would you guys recommend for someone who is about to have a baby and would like to take good portrait pictures. I have an old olympus 4/3 camera which is still ok, but the auto focus is painfully slow. Budget is in the $500-750 range.
 
What would you guys recommend for someone who is about to have a baby and would like to take good portrait pictures. I have an old olympus 4/3 camera which is still ok, but the auto focus is painfully slow. Budget is in the $500-750 range.
How old and which one? EM1's aren't too expensive on ebay these days. I normally just tell people to get a G7 but the G85 isn't that far out of your budget body only.
 

Sir Doom

Member
What is the weight difference between XF and XC lenses for Fuji

I was able to hold bought x-t20 and G80 today at the store.
At first I was set with the low profile of x-t20 but when I held it with XF lense it felt front heavy.
But the G8 felt light but bulky compared to X-t20
 
What is the weight difference between XF and XC lenses for Fuji

I was able to hold bought x-t20 and G80 today at the store.
At first I was set with the low profile of x-t20 but when I held it with XF lense it felt front heavy.
But the G8 felt light but bulky compared to X-t20

XF lenses are generally heavier cause they're made of metal while XC ones are mostly plastic.
 
What is the weight difference between XF and XC lenses for Fuji

I was able to hold bought x-t20 and G80 today at the store.
At first I was set with the low profile of x-t20 but when I held it with XF lense it felt front heavy.
But the G8 felt light but bulky compared to X-t20
The XT20 is what you get when you plan on using nothing but the primes, the XT2 is what you get when you want to use the actual big lenses and you still need the grip to balance it out better. I never recommend the XC lenses, they're all slow aperture wise. They're the real kit lenses.
 

Sir Doom

Member
The XT20 is what you get when you plan on using nothing but the primes, the XT2 is what you get when you want to use the actual big lenses and you still need the grip to balance it out better. I never recommend the XC lenses, they're all slow aperture wise. They're the real kit lenses.
XF lenses are generally heavier cause they're made of metal while XC ones are mostly plastic.
Thanks for the info
 
Anyone else think the X-T2 standard settings are a bit underexposed?

I find myself using +1/3 on exposure compensation a lot more than on other cameras.
 
Anyone else think the X-T2 standard settings are a bit underexposed?

I find myself using +1/3 on exposure compensation a lot more than on other cameras.
Quite frankly I just play it by sight and over expose a little. I do think it's a bit too dark if you try to follow the light meter 100% I also don't mess about with the film simulation stuff while I'm shooting. I pretty much just shoot Provia and just tinker a bit with the RAF's in post. I'm also about to start messing about in negative pro standard...or whatever that one's called just to be more further accurate while I'm shooting.
 

japtor

Member
Woo, finally got a real camera again a few days ago and have been lurking this thread since. Got a used GX7 and 20mm 1.7 pancake off eBay for relatively cheap, and have the "body lens cap" 9mm fisheye on the way as something else to screw around with. Probably should've put that money towards a real lens but whatever, if nothing else it's a way to pack the camera flat-ish while still being able to shoot something.
Got this lens in the mail yesterday:

http://i.imgur.com/O658bqOh.jpg

It's a Tokina AT-X PRO 28-70mm f/2.8.

I briefly mentioned this lens in the thread a week or two ago and yesterday it showed up unannounced actually. The friend of a friend who was selling it shipped it to me just so I can test it out the next couple of weeks and I gotta say, I really like it... to the point that I already paid him for it haha.

The biggest reason why he's selling it is coz the zoom ring is sticky around 28-50mm... it requires just a little bit more force to get it to turn but it doesn't seem to affect anything else about the lens. Also infinity focus at f/2.8 seems wack, as in it doesn't focus at all, but dropping it down to f/8 and it's suddenly sharp so I guess it's not really an issue actually.

Beyond that, it's seriously a keeper. I'm taken some shots around my house and it's really nice. f/2.8 is sharp(outside of infinity that is lol), and the colors coming from this are beautiful... I feel like you don't need to do much processing to get it to look good. What's also nice is that it's all metal and it feels a little lighter than my Vivitar 28-90.
Heh that reminds me, I was looking at lenses and remembered reading that mirrorless cams can pretty much adapt anything, then remembered I had an old Canon film camera around with 50mm f/1.8 lens (so I guess it'll be like 100mm on 4/3?). Found an adapter on Amazon for $14 so that should be fun/useful to mess with.
What would you guys recommend for someone who is about to have a baby and would like to take good portrait pictures. I have an old olympus 4/3 camera which is still ok, but the auto focus is painfully slow. Budget is in the $500-750 range.
What lenses do you have and do you want to keep using them?
Quite frankly I just play it by sight and over expose a little. I do think it's a bit too dark if you try to follow the light meter 100% I also don't mess about with the film simulation stuff while I'm shooting. I pretty much just shoot Provia and just tinker a bit with the RAF's in post. I'm also about to start messing about in negative pro standard...or whatever that one's called just to be more further accurate while I'm shooting.
Probably a dumb related question here, but does exposure compensation adjust shutter/aperture or is it a post/software effect? Just thought about it when I was shooting at night the other day and messing with manual settings (cause things were coming out kinda bright) when I figured out that I could maybe just use the exposure comp instead.
 
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