Jeff Keller wrote:
> Although the pics weren't as nice as many that you've done, I wouldn't have
> necessarily noticed the harsh lighting if I didn't know the pictures were
> taken by a skilled photographer. I think you did a good job of dealing with
> it!
In prior years the shoot has started at sunrise and gone on until sunset
which intentionally exposes you to all kinds of light throughout the
day. This year the shoot didn't get started until about 10:30 am. It
went on until sunset but I had to leave about 4:00 pm and missed the
much better light.
>
> I'll bet you're right eyed. Most of the L-brackets seem to be designed for
> right hand on top perhaps partly because that puts the camera to the right
> of a person's right eye. I'm left eyed and much prefer the right hand on
> bottom.
I guess I must be confounding y'all. I'm left eyed and left handed.
When I rotate the camera into a vertical position my natural tendency is
to rotate counter-clockwise. But this is all wrong for most flash
brackets. The BG-2 is the only thing I know of that can put the flash
on the right side of the camera since it has a shutter button buit-in
when used with a winder or motor drive.
With flash bracket on the left like the Stroboframes you need to rotate
clockwise and swing the flash arm up to keep the flash head above and
centered over the lens. This is unnatural for me and forces me to think
too much when using the stroboframe. I had the stroboframe with me but
I never use it for fill flash. Big flash brackets are designed to place
the flash far above the lens and exactly on the lens centerline. This
is to avoid red-eye and hide any shadows by casting them down and
directly behind the subject. But this is only meaningful when the
camera mounted flash is the main light. In full sun with small pupils
and nothing in the near background it doesn't matter. Flash in the hot
shoe is fine and a lot easier to carry and use.
>
> Have you started forming opinions about the Tokina? The C*non user who
> helped fuel the run on Zuikos has some opinions on the Tamron 28-75mm f2.8
> but I haven't found any reviews of the Tokina by anyone I am at alll
> familiar with.
>
> http://www.16-9.net/lens_tests/index.html
>
> If you found any good reviews of the Tokina I would appreciate a link to
> them.
> TIA,
The link above doesn't work. The site seems to be non-existent. There
are 11 reviews by owners at
<http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/showproduct.php?product=236&sort=7&cat=40&page=1>
A few people rate it rather negatively but most rate it very highly.
I considered the Tamron since it's rated very high optically and is
considerably cheaper and lighter. In the end I rejected it based on
build quality (plastic vs. metal), the fact that the lens extends during
focusing and the filter size. The Tamron takes a smaller, less
expensive filter but it's a different size than my next planned
acquisition... a 70/80-200 2.8 which all seem to want a 77mm filter just
like the Tokina 28-80.
Yes, so far I love the Tokina but I would only buy a new one. This lens
has been around for quite some time but I don't think it's the same
thing as was sold 5 years ago. I think it has been optically and
mechanically updated over the years without changing its name.
It's all metal and built like a tank. It's very fast to focus and very
quiet. Just a little soft whooshing sound. The manual focus clutch is
superb (one of the things I know has been improved over the years).
Switching focus modes at any time only requires pulling or pushing the
broad focusing collar about 10mm. The older design of this lens
required that the focusing collar be at min or max focus position to
mechanically engage manual focus. The new ones engage anywhere. Very nice.
The only thing I'm not sure about is the optical quality of this
particular lens. I still haven't had a chance to do any formal testing
and hope to do that today. It seems to perform very well in the photos
I've taken but I've yet to make a single shot at other than f/8-11 which
I'm sure is in the sweet spot range. I hope to compare it with some
Zuiko primes and Zuiko and other brand zooms. I had hoped to borrow a
Canon 28-70/2.8 "L" lens for comparison but don't think I'll get that
done today.
But I'll likely only be comparing resolution. No bokeh tests yet.
Incidentally, I don't seen the bokeh problems that the Schnozz mentions.
All I see is the effect of shooting at f/11 instead of f/4. Maybe
I'll see what he sees when I finally shoot something close-up at f/4.
Chuck Norcutt
>
> -jeff
>
> ----Original Message Follows----
> From: Chuck Norcutt <chucknorcutt@xxxxxxxxxxx>
>
> Thanks, your comments are appreciated. Actually, it's LHoB.
> -snip
>
> Chuck Norcutt
>
> AG Schnozz wrote:
> >
> > Having printed a lot of portraits from myself and others, I'm
> > going to make an assumption here about how you hold your camera.
> > It appears that you not using a vertical (battery grip) release
> > and shooting "RHoB" (Right Hand on Bottom). This is the
> > typically recommended shooting position for verticals, but it
> > frequently results in crooked horizons.
> -snip
> >
> > AG
>
>
>
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