[M_Six]

Originally Posted by druu

Thanks, though some might abuse me for shooting f4 on my first uses of a 1.2 lens heh

I have the Sigma 50mm f1.4 Art and the Sigma 18-35 f1.8 Art. I find that shooting wide open with them creates too shallow a DoF in many cases. Both those lenses are sharp wide open, but they get super sharp stopped down just a bit. I often take advantage of that.

[reu2]

Originally Posted by M_Six

I have the Sigma 50mm f1.4 Art and the Sigma 18-35 f1.8 Art. I find that shooting wide open with them creates too shallow a DoF in many cases. Both those lenses are sharp wide open, but they get super sharp stopped down just a bit. I often take advantage of that.

The sharpest point of any lens is typically around two full stops down. Don't get me wrong, the f1.2 and f1.4 have awesome bokeh, but I'm never embarrassed to to stop them down.

I use my 24-70 and 70-200 f2.8 at f8 often, and I use my f1.4 at f4~5.6 often. Just depends on what I'm doing. Don't be embarrassed, you're not alone.

This photo was shot in a setup I call "The Photo Booth", great for parties, just a white seamless and then a naked strobe pointed at two v-flats behind the camera. Just washes light all over. Notice pretty much everything is in focus. Use a 35mm lens set at f11 to allow focus on singles or group shots with a remote trigger, add some props, and get your drink on.

Of course it also helps to shoot teathered to a computer so people can see the results instantly for a good laugh, they tend to take more that way.


Capture0136-2 by Reuben Neese, on Flickr

[dcstep]

Nice setup reu2. That DOES look like fun for parties.

[dcstep]

Mellow-Yellow

Meadowlark Sings © by dcstep, on Flickr

[druu]

Originally Posted by M_Six

I have the Sigma 50mm f1.4 Art and the Sigma 18-35 f1.8 Art. I find that shooting wide open with them creates too shallow a DoF in many cases. Both those lenses are sharp wide open, but they get super sharp stopped down just a bit. I often take advantage of that.

Don't get me wrong i shoot the 50L and 85L at 2.0-5.6 all the time.

But I literally just mounted the lens on my camera for the first time and was like, ok its time for f/4.

[Vudoo4u2]

Dc

[Itsed65]

Had some Ten Acre Pinot to pick up this past weekend

Wine Cave by lennycarl08, on Flickr

[dcstep]

Ed, nice use of selective DOF.

[Itsed65]

Originally Posted by dcstep

Ed, nice use of selective DOF.

Thanks Dave. The EVF on the Fuji really shines in low light settings like this, allowing you to dial in the perfect EC. I would love to try one of the fast Fuji primes in this spot.

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by Itsed65

Thanks Dave. The EVF on the Fuji really shines in low light settings like this, allowing you to dial in the perfect EC. I would love to try one of the fast Fuji primes in this spot.

Tell me more about that. Does it show a bright image, even as you stop down to preview? If so, that would be really nice for this type of artistic shooting, or shooting where you need full DOF, but want as much light as possible, at the same time. I'd rather work in the VF than look at the back, but that can be hard with DSLR when trying to preview DOF with any stop-down.

[Itsed65]

I'm not talking about the LCD, I'm talking about the viewfinder you look through. It is pretty much what you see is what you get as far as exposure, so if it looks dark, it is under exposing, and you can crank up (or down) on the compensation in AE or change your desired settings in manual to get your desired exposure. I find I'm doing very little exposure correction in post with this camera. It's great for non action shots. I haven't played with it yet, but it also has focus peaking for manual focus where you get a dot where the focus lane is.

[druu]

For the focus peaking you see an outline over where the plane of focus is when using manual focus. Working in the EVF is great because what you see is what you get. It is however, at the expense of battery life and all EVF will have subtle to jarring lag. The x-e1 is only OK by today's standards, better than the classic x100 and 1-2nd gen EVFs. The X-T1 on the other hand, the evf on that is special. Its clear, fast and gives you customizable data in the EVF.

Usually to me, less is more. But to be able to have exactly which kinds of data in an EVF is pretty cool.

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by Itsed65

I'm not talking about the LCD, I'm talking about the viewfinder you look through. It is pretty much what you see is what you get as far as exposure, so if it looks dark, it is under exposing, and you can crank up (or down) on the compensation in AE or change your desired settings in manual to get your desired exposure. I find I'm doing very little exposure correction in post with this camera. It's great for non action shots. I haven't played with it yet, but it also has focus peaking for manual focus where you get a dot where the focus lane is.

I was talking about the EVF. (I hate using the LCD, even when I'm doing landscapes, but I do use it in some of those cases).

With a DSLR's optical viewfinder, when you stop-down to preview DOF, the viewfinder can get very dark, even if the exposure is correct. So with this EVF, you can see the actual DOF and the EVF will be as bright as your file will end up, right?

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by druu

For the focus peaking you see an outline over where the plane of focus is when using manual focus. Working in the EVF is great because what you see is what you get. It is however, at the expense of battery life and all EVF will have subtle to jarring lag. The x-e1 is only OK by today's standards, better than the classic x100 and 1-2nd gen EVFs. The X-T1 on the other hand, the evf on that is special. Its clear, fast and gives you customizable data in the EVF.

Usually to me, less is more. But to be able to have exactly which kinds of data in an EVF is pretty cool.

I'm waiting for them to solve the EVF lag issue. I'd consider this type of body for landscape, but if I were to buy a dedicated landscape body, I'd probably lean toward a super-high resolution body, like Canon's upcoming 5Dr. (I've printed at 48" with the 5D2, so now I'm imagining the impact at 72").

[druu]

I encourage you to give an X-T1 or X100T a rental or try it at a store. The EVF on both are cutting edge. The lag is much much less on those bodies, the high res viewfinder blew my mind when switching between that and the original x100. At the very least with an X100T its a hybrid so you have an OVF with data overlay.

[dcstep]

Tempting...

[Itsed65]

Yeah the viewfinder is what ultimately sold me on the X-T1 over the Sony A7II even with the full frame versuss crop factor. I spent over an hour at my camera shop comparing the two, and I just liked the way the Fuji felt and how it looked through the viewfinder better.

After a couple of months I am still very happy with my choice. It won't replace my 1D, 5D or 7D for wildlife, but for landscapes, travel, etc, I love it. The IQ is truly impressive for a compact package.

[Itsed65]

Semper Paratus by lennycarl08, on Flickr

[sirdaft1]

Originally Posted by Itsed65

Had some Ten Acre Pinot to pick up this past weekend

Wine Cave by lennycarl08, on Flickr

While we're on the wine theme... Grigrich Hills Estate in Napa. It reminds me of The Matrix for some reason??

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by sirdaft1

While we're on the wine theme... Grigrich Hills Estate in Napa. It reminds me of The Matrix for some reason??

Haha, "We'll need wine. Lots of wine."

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by sirdaft1

While we're on the wine theme... Grigrich Hills Estate in Napa. It reminds me of The Matrix for some reason??

OMG, did you get some Grigrich Estate Pinot? That may be The Best wine that I've ever tasted.

Dave

[sirdaft1]

Originally Posted by dcstep

OMG, did you get some Grigrich Estate Pinot? That may be The Best wine that I've ever tasted.

Dave

Oh yes!! Brought quite a bit back home with us as well!