[condor]

Does anyone have the Nikkor 24-85 ?

[reverse_gear]

Does anyone have a view on Canon EF 300mm f/4 IS? Does it work well with a 1.4 extender? I have a 550D body.

Principal purpose would be bird shots and wildlife.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by reverse_gear

Does anyone have a view on Canon EF 300mm f/4 IS? Does it work well with a 1.4 extender? I have a 550D body.

Principal purpose would be bird shots and wildlife.

300 F4 is good. I know one who uses it on a 550D body. No idea about the extender part.

[kaushik_s]

Originally Posted by reverse_gear

Does anyone have a view on Canon EF 300mm f/4 IS? Does it work well with a 1.4 extender? I have a 550D body.

Principal purpose would be bird shots and wildlife.

1.4x TC on f4 lens means max effective aperture of f5.6 and I think 550D should easily be able to use auto-focus. It'll still be a bit slower in AF than using only the lens but it should work.
Regards,

[M35]

Surprised to see Nikon D610 still selling at around Rs. 1.l Lakhs in India. In China/Hong Kong, the price saw a reduction up to Rs.10-12k equivalent, recently in line with a recent Global price drop. Now it is available for around Rs. 82,000 - 85,000 equivalent with Nikon China/Hong Kong Warranty.


P.S: Anyone interested in a D610, PM me.


BTW, I am planning to get a couple of fast primes.

• An ultra-wide angle.
• 1:1 Macro + portrait with at least 100 mm reach.

I am thinking of getting a Samyang 14 mm f2.8 [AE version]. It’s a manual lens but has excellent reviews all around.

Sigma 105 mm f2.8 OS DG looks good as of now for macro.
Any suggestions?

[reignofchaos]

Anyone have experience with the Sigma 18-35 f/1.8? I'm seriously considering this as my walkaround lens for my 40D. Reviews seem to say the lens is stellar.

[nilanjanray]

I was going through some of the old posts. Thoughts:
1. There were some very interesting discussions. And lots of arguments about technical stuff.
2. My initial DSLR shots were so contrasty and oversaturated lol. There were a few interesting ones e.g. of an elephant in late afternoon light (he is dead now), I wish I had shot them in RAW so that I could pp them now.

I had tried out a D810 for a few days. Have developed a slight crush on it, though I spent just 5 days with it :-)

Most of the early morn and evening shots during my last trip were taken above ISO 1000. A few leopard photos at ISO 6400. The D7100 wouldn't have performed all that well in those conditions. D810's metering is also better (I had known the technical specs, saw the results with my own eyes).

I was forced to take more animalscapes (instead of tight closeups) due to reach problem, but no regrets.

[M35]

Originally Posted by M35

BTW, I am planning to get a couple of fast primes.

• An ultra-wide angle.
• 1:1 Macro + portrait with at least 100 mm reach.

Both of them arrived.
The first thing I did after getting the Siggy was checking the AF accuracy. This time around the AF was spot on with absolutely no fine tuning required at all.

[Ricci]

Originally Posted by M35

Both of them arrived.
The first thing I did after getting the Siggy was checking the AF accuracy. This time around the AF was spot on with absolutely no fine tuning required at all.

Which one is this ? Pin sharp but the DOF is wafer thin !

[M35]

Originally Posted by Ricci

Which one is this ? Pin sharp but the DOF is wafer thin !

Sigma 105 mm f2.8.

It is a dedicated Macro lens. For such a macro lens, greater the magnification + smaller the f- stop number = shallower the DOF. This is what makes macro shooting very challenging.

[architect]

Originally Posted by Rajvir Bains

Hello guys,
I am on a lookout for external flash for my canon 550d for indoor portraits at night. I want flash for taking pictures during family gatherings only. I checked out canon 430ex2 which is expensive arnd Rs 17000. Is there any good alternative to canon 430ex2 ? I checked the net and found nissin di622 and sigma 610 dg st to be cheaper than canon. Read some of the reviews about both but could not decide.
So can you guys guide me and provide me tips to getting a value for money flash system.
Please note i just want pleasing portraits during low light conditions, i am not a proffessional, but open to spending 17k if its really worth it.
Thank you

Try Yongnuo, they have excellent (by third-party standards) yet affordable flash systems. YN-565, YN-568 etc, depending upon your needs and budget, are good models. However, I don't know if they have any dealers in India.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by M35

It is a dedicated Macro lens. For such a macro lens, greater the magnification + smaller the f- stop number = shallower the DOF. This is what makes macro shooting very challenging.

Congrats. I know once you get addicted to a macro, the addiction stays! I have the 100mm 2.8 IS L Canon. Now that has become my defacto lens. The IS helps give brilliant portraits and close-ups as well.

[Max]

Originally Posted by Rajvir Bains

Hello guys,
I am on a lookout for external flash for my canon 550d for indoor portraits at night. I want flash for taking pictures during family gatherings only. I checked out canon 430ex2 which is expensive arnd Rs 17000. Is there any good alternative to canon 430ex2 ? I checked the net and found nissin di622 and sigma 610 dg st to be cheaper than canon. Read some of the reviews about both but could not decide.
So can you guys guide me and provide me tips to getting a value for money flash system.
Please note i just want pleasing portraits during low light conditions, i am not a proffessional, but open to spending 17k if its really worth it.
Thank you

Buy this digitek manual flash, it will do the job. Note, this is manual flash hence will not work with screen on (you have to take photo using camera viewfinder) and it will not auto calculate light but soon you will get used to it and it will be worth your money. Best thing about it is, it cost only around Rs.2000/-. I have 2 of these and using them since year, they work fine.



Here is the ebay link, just in case you are interested.

http://www.ebay.in/itm/SPEEDLIGHT-FL...item1c359b926f

[Rajvir Bains]

Originally Posted by architect

Try Yongnuo, they have excellent (by third-party standards) yet affordable flash systems. YN-565, YN-568 etc, depending upon your needs and budget, are good models. However, I don't know if they have any dealers in India.

Originally Posted by Max

Buy this digitek manual flash, it will do the job. Note, this is manual flash hence will not work with screen on (you have to take photo using camera viewfinder) and it will not auto calculate light but soon you will get used to it and it will be worth your money. Best thing about it is, it cost only around Rs.2000/-. I have 2 of these and using them since year, they work fine. Here is the ebay link, just in case you are interested. http://www.ebay.in/itm/SPEEDLIGHT-FL...item1c359b926f

Thanks Architect and Max for the replies.
I went to local camera shop and he adviced me to go for either Simpex or Digitek brand as they are cheap. He told me Yongnuo is not readily available and doesnt carry any warranty.
Yes Max i found Digitek flashes to be value for money, their range starts at around Rs 2000 for basic manual flash. I selected a model, cant remember the model number, It has 62 guide number and ETTL function as well, also it has internal zoom function, with reasonable recycle time. It will carry a warranty of 1 month. He quoted me a price of Rs 5500 for it.
I asked a Professional Photographer about flashes, he said results are same with every flash, its just the build quality and brand name that increases the cost.

[Vampirevipin]

Hi,

I have a Canon 7D with a 28-135mm & 50mm 1.8 lens. My 28-135mm lens suffers from lens creep, anybody know good service centres in chennai to fix this issue?

Vipin