Any photographers in the house?

Aha! I complained about that a lot during the hike and now I feel vindicated/justified in getting one.

There are differing opinions on this, but I run UV filters on all my lenses to serve as a front element protector.

Re: 202/203 (if only Rainier was a bit more visible!)

An easy way to help out with this issue (exposing for NSMike blows out the lighter background or the other way around) is to under expose a bit - maybe a stop or two, then use the pop-up flash to fill in the darker NSsubject. You can adjust the flash exposure compensation in the menu somewhere. It takes a little practice, but you can do it without having that "blown subject from the on camera flash" look.

LiquidMantis wrote:

There are differing opinions on this, but I run UV filters on all my lenses to serve as a front element protector.

Yeah digital cameras do come with UV filters built in, but the EOS 20D is an older model that might not have one or it might not be as effective, since the haze is noticeable. Also it's a great way to protect your lens.

Was a slow night at work last night, so I rattled off this shot on the EOS-M camera that I added to my collection.

Walking Dead Michonne by SRivera, on Flickr
IMAGE(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7410/9741265023_39d13b4058_z.jpg)

Nice shot! Her brother has too many arms though

I love shooting closeups of toys to give them a real-world look. I did this with my son's Halo figs on my phone.
IMAGE(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/7779045/halo.jpg)

T3i w/18-55mm $579
55-250mm $179

So it's not a bad deal if you're happy with those lenses.

LiquidMantis wrote:

T3i w/18-55mm $579
55-250mm $179

So it's not a bad deal if you're happy with those lenses.

There are multiple 55-250mm lenses made by Canon, but Costco doesn't specify which one it is. It looks like it may be this older one, however, but it's still not a bad deal. It also depends how much you think you'll be doing zoom photography, and whether you don't mind swapping lenses on the fly from time to time. Another option would be to get this package where you've got a single lens that covers a bit more range than the 18-55mm kit lens, and you wouldn't need to think about swapping lenses so much.

Yeah, a break at 55mm is really inconvenient. I'd recommend getting the body and the newer 18-135 STM lens rather than the kit, at least I'm pretty sure the T3i kit includes the older 18-135.

I have the 28-135mm IS lens so I may go with a body only upgrade in the future.

Crossposted from the post-a-video thread.

Went to Shamboozle Fest this weekend. Carbon Leaf played a new song that's going on their latest kickstarted album, and I'm really happy with how the video turned out:

They sell USB sticks with audio from the sound board, so I was able to sync the soundboard audio up with my video. Not bad for a hand-held camera in a dark room.

Full set of photos is here, including tours of the Highland Brewing Company and Troy & Sons distillery (which is where the festival was at).

I'm still amazed at what I'm able to pull off with the Oly 75mm f/1.8 in a dark room with only concert lights.

Seven Nations:

IMAGE(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7375/9908844745_8d7deeba4b.jpg) IMAGE(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7375/9908749505_f01d2c49ac.jpg) IMAGE(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7359/9909450884_4040490260.jpg)

Carbon Leaf:

IMAGE(http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5321/9909770475_1d84f77c05.jpg) IMAGE(http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2812/9909862135_90520d3703.jpg) IMAGE(http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2858/9910069903_bdde3a9bcd.jpg) IMAGE(http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5534/9910067296_e4ccbea8cb.jpg)

Gaelic Storm:

IMAGE(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7294/9916510863_c8ee6286ce.jpg) IMAGE(http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5336/9916758775_ebeb6d5227.jpg) IMAGE(http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2865/9917174423_de6776d13e.jpg) IMAGE(http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3778/9917023476_9fab53944f.jpg) IMAGE(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7415/9916862005_97c7d90e64.jpg)

Cool shots! My favourite is the drummer though.... so cool!

I got my Peak Design Capture v2 camera clip yesterday. This one is really impressive. The v1 has been great, but it is really industrial looking. The new one is much more refined in design. The beadblasted finish has a lot better feel than the gloss of the original as well.

I'm still waiting on my shipment email, I was late to the Kickstarter funding (bought in on the last week of the fund raiser) so I might have to wait a bit longer. Was really wanting to have it this next week though since the weekend after this one is where I'll be up in Idaho and Utah doing some photography.

It sounds like they're bringing in large quantities so it should come soon. They shipped First Class from San Francisco. I got my shipping notice on Monday, Tuesday is when it was dropped off, Thursday delivery.

LiquidMantis wrote:

I got my Peak Design Capture v2 camera clip yesterday. This one is really impressive. The v1 has been great, but it is really industrial looking. The new one is much more refined in design. The beadblasted finish has a lot better feel than the gloss of the original as well.

Mine came in today so haven't had a chance to try it out yet. I had kicked in at the level that gave the GoPro mount as well but that bit hasn't shipped yet, I'm guessing.

Yeah, I think the GoPro mounts are shipping in October.

LiquidMantis wrote:

I got my Peak Design Capture v2 camera clip yesterday. This one is really impressive. The v1 has been great, but it is really industrial looking. The new one is much more refined in design. The beadblasted finish has a lot better feel than the gloss of the original as well.

Cool! Looking forward to mine. International shipments are still pending.

What extras did you get? I got the square mount for tripods etc and the support for belts.

I got the bundle with the Capture w/Arca plate, ProPad, and GoPro mount.

Cool, I didn't need the arca plate. How's the pad - or hasn't that shipped yet either? Looking forward to trying that one out.

The pad came too. I haven't used it yet but it seems well designed and solidly constructed. I haven't particularly felt the need for it with my Camelbak, but it should really help in "low tension" usage like a belt or light shoulder bag.

LiquidMantis wrote:

The pad came too. I haven't used it yet but it seems well designed and solidly constructed. I haven't particularly felt the need for it with my Camelbak, but it should really help in "low tension" usage like a belt or light shoulder bag.

My dad has a long lens that he uses on one of his cameras (it has a lock so it doesn't extend when left vertically) and I figured that, for usage on the belt with a camera like that with a heavy body and/or lens then it might help in feeling more comfortable and supported as opposed to feeling like it's twisting your trousers off!

My zoom lens doesn't have a lock so it wouldn't be good for that but, you know how purchasing new bits of photography gear works out, right? I've been looking at upgrading, or rather buying, one of the new Sony alphas since their tech is so much more advanced than the one I have and plus the three lenses I already have are fully compatible with the new line... So it'd be great to have one alpha on my hip with a wide-angle or fixed 50mm lens and the zoom in my hand on a sling or whatever.

I may have to invest in a macro lens if I keep hitting up gardens...

IMAGE(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7304/10299189455_fbf0bb5583_z.jpg)

IMAGE(http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3721/10299253183_90eb6c0417.jpg)

IMAGE(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7404/10299138274_e6b3be9071.jpg)

Did a blog for the wedding from last month, I figured that some of you would enjoy what might be one of my favorite silly pictures ever taken, and a perfect place for it would be GWJ. Full blog here:

http://focusurestudios.zenfolio.com/...

IMAGE(https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/906148_553965334675034_735440114_o.jpg)

Hey, fellow photo folk. In case you haven't seen it yet, Adobe is running a special on their photography creative cloud -- basically Lightroom 5 + Photoshop -- for $9.99/month, regardless if you have a previous Photoshop license. The only catch seems to be that you have to sign up for a year, and the deal is only available through December 2nd.

As someone whose still running Lightroom 3 and don't have a copy of Photoshop, I'm very tempted to get in on the deal.

Thanks for the heads up LupusUmbrus.

Happytime Harry - I must have missed those earlier. Those are terrific shots. I'm sure the wedding folks were overjoyed.

Decided to bust out the camera this evening and got some fun photos of my nephew.

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/vSE10N6l.jpg)

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/vdz6QmQl.jpg)

Those are great!

Rahmen wrote:

Those are great!

I love the shadows on that last one. I gave the camera to my nephew and had him shoot quite a few pictures. Here's one that kind of turned out. That's me blurry on the left and my one year old niece and nephew's sister in perfect soft focus. Pretty amazing for an almost 4 year old.

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/Ti6pfaol.jpg)