02-09-2016, 12:53 PM
There's been some head count adjustment at work, and one of those no longer with us wanted a photo of an item they had worked on to show to potential future employers. A colleague tried to use the company DSLR (Canon 350D with kit 18-55 and 60mm macro), and it pained me a bit to see he didn't have a clue. I'm also bad at giving photo advice. I do it my way, or they can do whatever they want. Not in between.
Still, I did manage to give some pointers and he got a reasonable image. I commented if better was wanted, I can bring in something a bit newer. Better was requested.
Today I bought in two cameras, not having decided exactly how I want to do it yet. My first thought was to use the 5D mk2 with Zeiss 50 makro. On a whim I also packed my 7D mk2 and 100L macro. The Sigma 50mm Art also came along for the ride as it currently works as the body cap on the 5D2.
At a meeting this morning, there was a presentation given to my manager by the CEO, and our office admin had the same company camera above to take a photo. She admitted afterwards the shutter was very long, and she didn't change the settings on the camera. Meaning they were still set as they were for macro the day before! Aperture priority mode, stopped down for depth of field, There's the problem! We reviewed the images and sure enough they were both dark and blurry. I happened to also have my personal laptop with Photoshop Elements 14 installed, and tried to run them through the anti-shake filter. It didn't help enough. Also when trying to raise the overall exposure, the shadows were pure noise. Not helped as it was shot in jepg, but it would likely have been too far gone even for raw to salvage. This might be one of those cases where a modern Sony sensor might have in part rescued the shadow noise situation, but not the blur.
After some running around, it was decided to retake the shots as the CEO was leaving the building, and I got volunteered to do the retake. No pressure. Now I had a choice to make. What would I use, out of what I had? I was concerned the 50mm would be too tight, even on FF, for the space available. So I ended up choosing the EF-S 18-55 (non-IS) on 7D mk2. That's not a combination you expect to see... checked settings and a quick practice shot, I was as ready as I'll ever be.
While waiting for the CEO to be available I did say to my manager, I don't do humans and specialise in wildlife. So I would have to ask either him or the CEO to make duck noises. Maybe a goose at a stretch. He declined, and I didn't get a chance to ask the CEO. Maybe another time.
Haven't gone through photos yet as this is my lunch break, but on screen they look ok. I think I made the right choice on the lens as the shots were on the wide end. 50mm would have been too tight, and it isn't that kind of shot!
To be fair, the 350D would have sufficed with better settings than 1st time around. But I got my 7D2 on me, might as well use it.
Still, I did manage to give some pointers and he got a reasonable image. I commented if better was wanted, I can bring in something a bit newer. Better was requested.
Today I bought in two cameras, not having decided exactly how I want to do it yet. My first thought was to use the 5D mk2 with Zeiss 50 makro. On a whim I also packed my 7D mk2 and 100L macro. The Sigma 50mm Art also came along for the ride as it currently works as the body cap on the 5D2.
At a meeting this morning, there was a presentation given to my manager by the CEO, and our office admin had the same company camera above to take a photo. She admitted afterwards the shutter was very long, and she didn't change the settings on the camera. Meaning they were still set as they were for macro the day before! Aperture priority mode, stopped down for depth of field, There's the problem! We reviewed the images and sure enough they were both dark and blurry. I happened to also have my personal laptop with Photoshop Elements 14 installed, and tried to run them through the anti-shake filter. It didn't help enough. Also when trying to raise the overall exposure, the shadows were pure noise. Not helped as it was shot in jepg, but it would likely have been too far gone even for raw to salvage. This might be one of those cases where a modern Sony sensor might have in part rescued the shadow noise situation, but not the blur.
After some running around, it was decided to retake the shots as the CEO was leaving the building, and I got volunteered to do the retake. No pressure. Now I had a choice to make. What would I use, out of what I had? I was concerned the 50mm would be too tight, even on FF, for the space available. So I ended up choosing the EF-S 18-55 (non-IS) on 7D mk2. That's not a combination you expect to see... checked settings and a quick practice shot, I was as ready as I'll ever be.
While waiting for the CEO to be available I did say to my manager, I don't do humans and specialise in wildlife. So I would have to ask either him or the CEO to make duck noises. Maybe a goose at a stretch. He declined, and I didn't get a chance to ask the CEO. Maybe another time.
Haven't gone through photos yet as this is my lunch break, but on screen they look ok. I think I made the right choice on the lens as the shots were on the wide end. 50mm would have been too tight, and it isn't that kind of shot!
To be fair, the 350D would have sufficed with better settings than 1st time around. But I got my 7D2 on me, might as well use it.
<a class="bbc_url" href="http://snowporing.deviantart.com/">dA</a> Canon 7D2, 7D, 5D2, 600D, 450D, 300D IR modified, 1D, EF-S 10-18, 15-85, EF 35/2, 85/1.8, 135/2, 70-300L, 100-400L, MP-E65, Zeiss 2/50, Sigma 150 macro, 120-300/2.8, Samyang 8mm fisheye, Olympus E-P1, Panasonic 20/1.7, Sony HX9V, Fuji X100.