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There is yet another one, with "IS". It means it has image stabilization (see early posts):
www.the-digital-pictur...eview.aspx
www.dpreview.com/lensr...p6_is_c16/

Skip the "II" type and look for the "IS".

Massimo

Today visited a museum were they used in some parts fluorescent lamps. Put the white balance of the camera on the setting ''artificial light'' .

The pictures turned out to be very blue (see below). After putting the white balance on automatic it turned out better. Anyone know why this happens. In my opinion the artificial light setting must be more accurate.

I had the same problem at Sinsheim, after that I promised myself I will use RAW all the time

The problem with white-balance presets is that they are just... presets! They will work fine in many cases, but fails in some edge cases, like some fluorescent lights used in large buildings. You may end up with a blue or red cast, and if you shoot JPEG you can't recover from it that much. There are also cases where light keep changing, like a building that get sunlight from one side and artificial light on the other, you move around and you either set custom white-balance all the time or you end up with an inappropriate setting (I wasted quite a few shots at Thun's SHP for this reason)

Among the benefits of using RAW, is that you can change, tweak and fine tune white-balance during post-processing. Do you have RAW versions of those shots? Try to load one of it inside the Nikon's software (even if it's slow, try just one) and tweak the white-balance. Start from an auto setting than manually pick the one you feel correct.

If you can't use any application to handle RAW, just send me a copy of a shot with bad white-balance in RAW format. The Panther may be underexposed, the T-34 looks right, apart from the bluish cast. Email the file to massimo @ massimocorner.com I will give it a try

Massimo

With the settings on automatic it went much better. I shoot these days RAW+JPEG. So I have both.

the one below is a JPEG with WB on auto


Feel free to comment about other pictures, focus underexposure, overexposure etc etc. Then I can learn from it.

Regards,
Lesley

You can open the RAW of the shot with a blue cast, change WB to "auto", and generate a brand new JPEG out of it. No need to shoot twice.

Massimo

Massimo or anyone else, does anyone know of a site like Flicker to post lots of photos, by lots I mean 20,000 or more. Right now I have 4 Photobucket accounts, one that I pay for due to the large number of photos on the site. Some place free would be nice, does Flicker have a limit on free accounts? Anyone know of a free site for large numbers? Thanks AJ2

Flickr's free account only shows the most recent 200 shots, it also has limits on monthly bandwith. Check the FAQ:
www.flickr.com/help/limits/

Massimo

oh, thank you. I might be looking for something that doesn't exist. Photobucket has bandwidth limits on the free accounts.

There is yet another one, with "IS". It means it has image stabilization (see early posts):
www.the-digital-pictur...eview.aspx
www.dpreview.com/lensr...p6_is_c16/

Skip the "II" type and look for the "IS".

Massimo

good to know that it is something else
The one you mean in about 90 euro

I will have an look around if I can find one near by

Michel

- Michel_Krauss

The one you mean in about 90 euro

I will have an look around if I can find one near by

90 euro is okay for it. You may improve your results without breaking the bank (good lenses last for decades but cost a lot)
No need to say it's better to buy from a reputable seller, with a clear return policy. If you buy locally take the camera with you in order to quickly try the lens.

Massimo

A preview of the just announced Canon 60D:
photo.net/equipment/ca...n-preview/

Glad to finally see a tilt and swivel LCD. This is a really handy feature for AFVs. Sometimes I shot inside hatches and very often I shot over my head "blindly"; would love to have such a features. Hope it will become standard on newer Canon's DSLRs.

Massimo

- Massimo_Foti

A preview of the just announced Canon 60D:
photo.net/equipment/ca...n-preview/

Glad to finally see a tilt and swivel LCD. This is a really handy feature for AFVs. Sometimes I shot inside hatches and very often I shot over my head "blindly"; would love to have such a features. Hope it will become standard on newer Canon's DSLRs.

Massimo

That's interesting. I'm looking to get a new camera and I've been tending towards a Nikon for the tilt and swivel LCD, rather than Canon, but maybe now I'll hold off. The tilt and swivel LCD is the last bit missing from making my version of the 'JoeD Tank Stick' - raising the camera high up on a tripod - really effective.

So far I limited myself to raising the camera above my head. But a combination of monopod/tripod, remote control and tilt and swivel LCD could do very well.

If you go with Canon ask first, I could give you some suggestions on lens

Massimo

Hi All,

Regarding issues of setting an accurate white balance in difficult lighting conditions, I swear by the Expodisc:

www.expoimaging.com/pr...s=ExpoDisc

In instances where setting a custom white balance with the Expodisc doesn't work, I will use the Kelvin Temp settings.

I have found the Auto White Balance setting on my Canon 50D to be a tad blue for my tastes. So, when I'm shooting outdoors in normal sunshine, I will set my white balance to 5500K and the photos look great.

I have had to learn in which direction to alter the Kelvin Temps depending on the results I want. The basic idea is that lower numbers are 'cooler' - bluer in color and higher temps 'hotter' - more yellow.

Sometimes under the most difficult lighting combinations (Natural light mixed with fluorescents or fluorescents of mixed colors) I will use the White Balance Shift setting in the Canon's menu. It allows me to shift the color balances by adding more red or green or violet and get a much more precise balance.

I don't like shooting in RAW. I don't want to have to spend the time at the computer tweaking the shots, I prefer to get the shots in camera. I shoot JPEG all the time and am very happy with the results.

I did have to tweak the JPEG settings on the camera to get the results that I like, though. The factory defaults were very soft and had a bit too much contrast for my tastes.

My camera setup is a Canon 50D with the Canon 17-55 EFS f2.8 lens (with the 1.6 crop factor it is a 27 – 88mm). Mrs. VB uses her Panasonic G1 with the 14-45mm (in 35mm equivalent a 28 – 90mm). Her Panasonic is terrific for overhead and ‘blind’ shooting as it has an articulated LCD screen. We are very happy to have both platforms to use as each has it’s own strengths and if one of us misses the shot, the other one gets it.

Cheers!

Lesley,

Regarding the 'blue' Panther photo. The majority of the light hitting the tank appears to be natural light coming through the windows. Sunlight is around 5200K in temperature. If you used the fluorescent WB setting (that is usually around 4000K, a much 'bluer' or cooler temperature) it will give you a blueish result.

Did you also use flash? If so, the flash on your camera (without a diffuser or gel) will also tend to 'blue' the photo.

The fluorescent WB setting is designed to work well when the light is fully from fluorescent lights.

As smart as cameras WB settings are, we have had to learn a lot about light and light temperatures to be able to get the photos that we are looking for. Museums are particularly difficult in that the light is usually awful for photography.

Most of the books on photography deal with taking good photos under good conditions. We have had to adapt a lot of different techniques to be able to pull off getting good photos under the extremely adverse conditions of military museums.

Hope this helps!

Cheers!