MAMA's Techno-Geek Thread

[blalor]

I've got the "nifty fifty", too. Cheap construction, but handy to have. The 50mm focal length is a little long for my tastes (I either want much wider or much longer) but it's nice for low light and shallow DoF. Probably woulda been good for karting the other day, too. Hm, shoulda tried that...

[GBMINI]

Do Canon & Nikon lenses interchange?

[GadgetGav]

Quote: Originally Posted by GBMINI (original)

Do Canon & Nikon lenses interchange?

NO! Hence the Canon / Nikon wars Josh mentioned...!
If you want a lens from a particular manufacturer (and they each have a few unique ones) you have to have their body.
All the third party lens makers (Tamron, Sigma, etc) all make lenses for both mounts.

[jwardell]

Astonishing you have such a blur-free hand held 3.6-second exposure...have you checked your pulse lately?

[NoNo]

I have Sigma lenses, and I'm very happy with them. While we're talking about cameras, does anyone have recommendations for filters? Are they all basically the same?

[GadgetGav]

I think to a certain extent you get what you pay for... I try to find Hoya or B+W at good prices if I can.
What do you need..? I've got a 77mm B+W UV that I'm probably going to sell. I bought the filter before I had the lens (Canon 10-22) and having borrowed a friend's 10-22, I don't think I'll use it enough to justify the cost.

[blalor]

Are you looking to sell the lens, too? Not like it matters; I can't afford a $600 piece of glass right now.

[GadgetGav]

I don't have the lens - that's why I'm selling the filter..!
I was planning to buy the lens and I saw the filter on ebay or digitalgrin for a good price, so I bought it. Then I borrowed the 10-22 from a friend and while it was a great lens, as I said, I didn't think I'd use it enough to justify buying one.

Of course, I'm going to Palm Springs at the end of the month, so I'm sure there's plenty of landscapes there that I could use it on... Time to ask to borrow it again..!

[NoNo]

I want a UV and a polarizer. Preferably before hitting the snowy banks of Happy Valley.

[MGB Boy]

Quote: Originally Posted by NoNo (original)

I have Sigma lenses, and I'm very happy with them. While we're talking about cameras, does anyone have recommendations for filters? Are they all basically the same?

I've got a coupe B+W filters I paid a bit more for, but to be honest, I've been perfectly happy with the Tiffen and Hoya ones I've gotten, which tend to cost less than a B+W (sometimes half, depending on the filter type in question). I wouldn't go for the super-cheapo $8 circular polarizer (or whatever the cheapest you can find is), but you can end up paying a lot for fancy multi-coated filters and all that when really, for most general "enthusiastic amateur" sorts of uses, whether or not you keep the filter clean and smudge-free will probably make more of a difference than choosing between a $35 filter or a $70 filter. Especially if you want to get a bunch of filters and play around and see what you like and what you can do. Maybe after that pay a bit more for one or two in particular. Just my two cents.

-Ricardo

[blalor]

Quote: Originally Posted by GadgetGav (original)

Time to ask to borrow it again..!

ZipLens.com or RentGlass.com. I used RentGlass a few months ago to try out Canon's 100mm macro lens and was pretty happy with both the lens and the service. RentGlass won't let you reserve something that's not in stock, so there's something of a mad dash when you get the email stating that it's back in stock. If you don't make it in time, you're SOL.

Quote: Originally Posted by NoNo (original)

I want a UV and a polarizer. Preferably before hitting the snowy banks of Happy Valley.

My polarizer's my most-frequently used filter. I love what it does to skies. I'm not convinced the UV does much, aside from protecting the glass from an impact, though.

[blalor]

Got my new suction cup camera mount from FilmTools yesterday and finally got a chance to play with it a little bit tonight:


I'm going to have a lot of fun with this puppy!

[m2smith]

NoNo
Pam has the same D70 and Sigma 18-200 and the polarizer is her stock filter for all her outdoor stuff, but it does vignette at the max zoom bigtime. And stacking filtersw really kills the long end of the zoom...

Ian- That is incredible - I could get a steady shot even with DTs

[MGB Boy]

Quote: Originally Posted by blalor (original)

My polarizer's my most-frequently used filter. I love what it does to skies. I'm not convinced the UV does much, aside from protecting the glass from an impact, though.

I don't really buy that "it cuts haze" crap either, but like you say, it's a must-have just for the "protecting the front element of your lens" aspect. I'd rather replace a cracked/scratched filter than a cracked/scratched lens. Especially if you tend to be a "I'll use whatever I have handy to clean my glass" sort of person. I'd rather scratch the UV filter while using the edge of my shirt to wipe rain/mud/whatever off the lens than to scratch the lens itself!

Quote: Originally Posted by blalor (original)

Got my new suction cup camera mount from FilmTools yesterday and finally got a chance to play with it a little bit tonight:


I'm going to have a lot of fun with this puppy!

That doesn't look like a MINI dashboard!

-Ricardo

[blalor]

Quote: Originally Posted by MGB Boy (original)

That doesn't look like a MINI dashboard!

Oh, great. Thanks for letting the cat out of the bag! Nobody else woulda noticed if you hadn't opened your yap!