hope and vaseline posted:

$100 a whole bunch of sigma lenses for the next few weeks. Sooooo tempted by the 18-35 art...

https://www.the-digital-picture.com/News/News-Post.aspx?News=24815

Clayton Bigsby posted:

would like something that's more forest friendly too.

hope and vaseline posted:

$100 off a whole bunch of sigma lenses for the next few weeks. Sooooo tempted by the 18-35 art...

https://www.the-digital-picture.com/News/News-Post.aspx?News=24815

powderific posted:

Yeah, Capture One Pro is the obvious choice for Sony users since you can get a cheaper one, but even if you're not straight up Sony a lot of people like Capture One. You could use Photo Mechanic for organization end of things and it's actually a lot faster than Lightroom for reviewing.

I've never really given Capture One Pro a fair shot for image processing since I have 10+ years of photos organized in Lightroom and I have to have a creative cloud subscription for other programs.

Sauer posted:

Capture One is a very capable raw processor. For image processing I consider it superior to Lightroom but it's digital asset management is not as good. If you have a modern Sony camera the full featured version is nearly free and the light version is free. Don't remember what the difference was between them since $40 for the full version (at the time, don't know if that changed) was effectively free in photography dollars and I never touched the light version.

Keep in mind if you go that route the license you get for either version is for a Capture One that can only read Sony Raw files (ARW).

spider wisdom posted:

Is there a decent budget (sub-$50) option for an E-TTL speedlight? Still rockin' the T3i and don't need anything overly fancy, but something decent and reliable are plusses.

xzzy posted:

Other search terms are leading lines and layers in landscapes. I don't have any books to recommend, but maybe that can find you some reading material online.

Sunrise/sunset are definitely the prime times but you can do good stuff at midday too. Overcast days will help colors pop, harsh contrast at midday means you can consider black and white, and 10 stop filters can do fun stuff at any time of day.

theHUNGERian posted:

Clicking the info button on the page showed that the Leica used a LEICA APO-Summicron M90 ASPH lens, so $5k for the lens and another $7k for the M10 body.

Yeah, a Sony a6500 (or A7R III) will suit me just fine.

Yeast posted:

I'm moving to Capture One from Lightroom.

The RAW engine is to my eyes lovely. It's also faster, which is nice when I'm shooting tethered.

red19fire posted:

Late to this party, but you'd also be well served by a fuji X-Pro2, unless you prefer the larger sensor rangefinders.

Soulex posted:

Fstoppers did a video series on landscape photography that’s worth a watch. You can buy the series and files and go along with the thing.

The dude basically travels the world taking photos and he goes through the process of framing, composing, and gives you the file to edit along side him.

There are a lot of things you can talk about with photography and composition, but practice is really key. I’d suggest looking at photos you like and reverse engineering the photo to see how and what they did to get their work the way they did.

evil_bunnY posted:

as in?

Paul MaudDib posted:

FYI, camera gear wears really well and you'll get a lot more for your money buying used. You can buy midrange gear that's in like-new condition for the same price you'll pay for new-in-box basic gear, and the midrange gear has a lot better image quality/build quality/features. Up to you, but most serious photographers buy used, much like a car the first person to drive it off the lot pays a big premium. Stuff that's like one generation behind current goes for like half the price of current-gen stuff.

Again, I don't really know M4/3 all that well but that would be the system I'd aim for given the use-case/price range here. M4/3 gear tends to be cheaper and more compact than most other systems (it's only useful if they carry it), without too much loss of quality. Since it's a single standard that's shared by like five companies there's a really good selection of lenses and bodies.

I seem to remember Olympus bodies being pretty highly regarded, so I'd look at something like the OM-D E-M5. Since that body has in-body image stabilization you don't need to worry about that on the lenses, and Olympus weather-sealing is supposed to be really good which is nice for travel (although you will need weather-sealed lenses to fully complete that). There are also more compact options like the PEN series, which may be nice with a pancake lens as they will be getting into the "pocketable" range, but you are giving up that viewfinder (using only the screen on back).

I'm not a M4/3 guy so maybe DJExile or someone may be able to chime in with better recommendations, but in generalities here's what I'd recommend. Here's what prices look like. Generally, you'll want a basic zoom "kit lens" (14-45 or something similar) particularly for travel. A fixed aperture is nice but is going to be out of your price range here, unless you only buy that lens. The other basic lens you want is a normal or wide-normal fixed (prime) lens, which will be something in the 17 to 25mm range for Olympus. For convenience, a pancake lens is nice - like that Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 or 17mm f/2.8 Zuiko. Less compact choices would be the Panasonic 25mm f/1.7 or Sigma 19mm f2.8. For food photography you also probably want a macro lens, but a dedicated macro lens is probably going to be out of your budget (again, unless you buy only that lens), so I would try and make sure whatever "kit lens" you buy has a good close-focus capability. However, that's usually going to directly work against compactness.

On the "it's only useful if they carry it" note, you may also want to get them a small satchel to carry the camera and maybe one spare lens.

(KEH EX quality is basically "was once touched by an ungloved hand", the equivalent of eBay LIKE NEW MINT+++ condition)

Clayton Bigsby posted:

Raincover, exterior you can get a bit dirty and wipe down, basically something you can toss around in the woods a bit and not cry over it.

Qubee posted:

Total: £850.50, but if I buy the camera at a lower price of £300 New Total: £651.50
How's that list look for a well-rounded camera that lets my friend take lovely pictures of cities when they're travelling, but is also capable of taking stunning photos of food for their food blog? I've then got to think about accessories that would be helpful to have, so a satchel is a must have, maybe an extra battery too, anything else?

quote:

I've got no idea what the 1:4 0-5.6 means

Paul MaudDib posted:

E5 vs E10 ii is a "newer beginner camera vs older prosumer camera" situation and that's not necessarily straightforward - that's the situation I was talking about. The older midrange camera may actually be nicer than the newer beginner camera in meaningful ways. In particular it looks like the E10ii isn't weathersealed (again, nice for travel) and has a slower shutter rate (but is better in some other ways). comparison

I am not telling you to buy one or the other here, nor which lens to pick, you've exceeded my camera knowledge here on this system (in particular, picking one of the many kit lenses can be esoteric - many are lovely, some are decent). I PM'd DJExile who will hopefully have some relevant feedback. He's the M4/3 guy around here.

Personally I would give up on the macro lens (that's a telephoto lens that can do macro, not a dedicated macro lens) and if you really want to splurge, plow the money into a constant-aperture lens which can also do macro... which I don't know what that would be for the M4/3 system, please help here DJ. I know on APS-C it would be the Tamron 17-50 f/2.8, surely there has to be some M4/3 equivalent that can do macro decently for a couple hundred pounds. Not saying it's a must - personally I think it's a choice between "cheap kit lens + prime" and "nice kit lens", or "nice kit lens + prime" if you want to splurge. If you don't think they'll compare about compactness then by all means plow that money back into the kit lens too, the difference between a $100 lens and a $300 lens is enormous.

Yes, spare battery is also nice. Maybe a car charger or international charger kit?

Qubee posted:

That comparison website is fantastic.Thank you for PMing the resident expert. And I know for sure they wouldn't care about how compact it is, the bulkier the better (in terms of lenses) as it'll make them feel all official and stuff, so I'll definitely keep that in mind and throw the money back into a better lens (so I take it pancake lenses are more expensive due to their compact nature?).

International charger kit is a good shout! You've been a phenomenal help, thank you so much. Fingers crossed when this all works out, you'll forever be known as that very friendly and selfless internet person who made this gift be as special as it is. I just wish I hadn't thought of this as a spur of the moment type deal, I'd have been able to save up more to give myself more breathing room, instead of stressing about staying within a budget and making sacrifices in certain aspects.

DJExile posted:

theHUNGERian posted:

Any book recommendations for landscape photography? I understand the 'golden hour' and focus (aperture and depth of field). However, in terms of composition, I only know the rule of thirds. I recently read a blurb about Van Gogh's Starry Night and how it has many elements that are supposed to prevent the eye from leaving the image plane. Unfortunately, I was not able to follow it, and I cannot tell if the content was above my head or if the person explaining it was overanalyzing it and massively full of poo poo.