G2 @ Chingay

[clubgrit]

I just hope with all the new announcements of sigma, cosina, sk, zeiss etc joining m4/3, someone releases a bright zoom fast!!!! National day coming

Well, let's wait. You can also consider just standard or wide zooms rather than telephoto and get closer.

Saw some Chingay pics on Flickr, person used a canon 5D but chose to stay at ISO lower than 1600. Just click on a pic, and right top part of page, click on "Canon EOS 5D" to show exif.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/foojphotography/sets/72157626038875326/

He/she even managed to escape with 1/60 speed, at f/5.6, but this is in part due to using a wider angle lens. So that's another option

http://www.flickr.com/photos/foojphotography/5441166091/in/set-72157626038875326/


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[cimman]

Makes me feel wimpy seeing girls hold their big guns with their skinny arms like nothing, no strap even - Tyra Banks with her Hasselblad

bro, forget about the muscles, you've got to work on your 内功. That's where the real strength lies.

 

[cimman]

We were there very briefly, but close up, and the fastest speed I got for ISO 1600 was 1/500, f/1.7.

From the distance you were shooting at - f/2, ISO 800, and 1/250 or 1/125 would still give you a good DOF width to capture a scene even with manual focus in continuous mode for a better hit rate. 1/500 and up is the ideal speed but one can still get away with some pics at lesser speed from that distance. Might as well go for the higher quality ISO 800 (or even ISO 400 if the opportunity presents itself).

So I guess you will want a fast lens if you'd like to use ISO 1600 and below in such situations with exuberant movement. Even with a Canon 7d for example, you will still want a fast lens (at least I would) for fast movement indoors like the Youth Olympics, or night outdoors like Chingay.

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sometimes a fast lens is just not enough to freeze the action in a nightime situation. That's where a high ISO is needed as well. With both a fast lens and a good high ISO camera sensor, you can take on just about any situtations. It might not be as pristine as ISO 100, but at least you got a shot with little grain.

The fast lens can help up to a point. If you want DOF, you still need to dial down the aperture and that negates the advantage of a fast lens. You'll still need to increase the ISO. I've a Sigma 30mm F1.4. Situations where I can take pics at F1.4 is limited to still images and good enough contrast for camera to focus. Any slight mistake and the photo is out of focus. Smaller apertures are more forgiving to auto focus mistakes.
However, I do love my Sigma lens. It's much better than my 14-54mm. It's sharper, more contrasty and the bokeh is fantastic.

 

[Agrivar]

I do love my Sigma lens. It's much better than my 14-54mm. It's sharper, more contrasty and the bokeh is fantastic.

Wow.. is your 14-54 Mk I or Mk II? I'm surprised the Sigma is sharper than the oly lens... which is already known for sharpness..

Thinking of getting the Mk II with 4/3 adapter on my G2...

 

[clubgrit]

sometimes a fast lens is just not enough to freeze the action in a nightime situation. That's where a high ISO is needed as well. With both a fast lens and a good high ISO camera sensor, you can take on just about any situtations. It might not be as pristine as ISO 100, but at least you got a shot with little grain.

The fast lens can help up to a point. If you want DOF, you still need to dial down the aperture and that negates the advantage of a fast lens. You'll still need to increase the ISO. I've a Sigma 30mm F1.4. Situations where I can take pics at F1.4 is limited to still images and good enough contrast for camera to focus. Any slight mistake and the photo is out of focus. Smaller apertures are more forgiving to auto focus mistakes.
However, I do love my Sigma lens. It's much better than my 14-54mm. It's sharper, more contrasty and the bokeh is fantastic.

Of course, sometimes ... like the night safari moving animals . Most of the time, I have very rarely needed ISO 3200 even with f/2 or f/2.8 for night performances or in Singapore streets, or indoor sports - it's usually ISO 400 to 1600, from f/1.1 to f/2.8.

Only stills with f/1.4 ? But 30mm with its wider dof is so much easier than 50, 85 ... and if AF fails because of contrast, there's always MF. An action shot at f/1.4 can be nice.


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[spidey89]

Of course, sometimes ... like the night safari moving animals . Most of the time, I have very rarely needed ISO 3200 even with f/2 or f/2.8 for night performances or in Singapore streets, or indoor sports - it's usually ISO 400 to 1600, from f/1.1 to f/2.8.

Only stills with f/1.4 ? But 30mm with its wider dof is so much easier than 50, 85 ... and if AF fails because of contrast, there's always MF. An action shot at f/1.4 can be nice.


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Basically do it old school? A question I like to ask myself in such cases is "if in the past, people without auto crap can take images that makes one go :bigeyes:, why can't us with all our fancy gear?" :bsmilie:

 

[loneWolff]

Old school, new school, blah blah blah.
In the old days, people eat grass for meals and we eat refined food.
In return what do we get, panda eyesight, drug addict hands and bad sense of reality.
Hell we can't even judge whether it is too dark for the camera, is the camera set to the correct shutter speed or aperture to even know how to use this camera?

Thank goodness we have newer technology to make up for our incompetency but technology also has a limit to protect the photographer from taking crap.
If you think your shutter speed is too slow, move that sexy butt of yours to the front.
Good for reducing the focal length to get a better f-stop and maybe not so good for those who has to see your butt.
If you can't shoot in low light because of noise, bump up that iso and lie that the end result looks creative or abstract.
An alternative is to not shoot that portion so that you don't have to process more crap unless your part-time job is the archiver of crap.
Leave that job to the official photographers of Chingay, they have trained hard for this.

And don't get me into an argument about MF or AF since when does any of that makes sense.
If AF is faster then go with it, if your wheel of fortune at MF is good then by all means.
Doesn't have to be clearly defined between both sides since you can use AF + MF, it's actually a function inside your camera.

Big camera, small camera, who cares.
We shoot with them because our egos are bigger than the cameras.
We just like to show people that we can shoot decent pictures that won't turn anyone to stone with our cameras that has lower performance in almost all aspect except cost than camp C or N.

I better sign off at the dot least I get stone by the wonderful people of the m43.

 

[clubgrit]

Basically do it old school? A question I like to ask myself in such cases is "if in the past, people without auto crap can take images that makes one go :bigeyes:, why can't us with all our fancy gear?" :bsmilie:

Well, old school can also mean simply back to basics. Sometimes we need to revert back.

I was taking pics at a Mixed Martial Arts events, saw my favorite guy win. Shot the fights with Canon 7D, fast AF and fps, super easy, can't miss anything, in sequence even. 15 minute break for everyone, went to get some wine, saw my favorite guy having a break too and people taking pics. I asked him to pose for me, he obliged and smiled, I pointed the camera, and it won't autofocus due to the dim light ! Embarrassing situation, he patiently waited with his frozen smile while I fumbled quickly to MF. I just said sorry, very old camera


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[spidey89]

Well, old school can also mean simply back to basics. Sometimes we need to revert back.

I was taking pics at a Mixed Martial Arts events, saw my favorite guy win. Shot the fights with Canon 7D, fast AF and fps, super easy, can't miss anything, in sequence even. 15 minute break for everyone, went to get some wine, saw my favorite guy having a break too and people taking pics. I asked him to pose for me, he obliged and smiled, I pointed the camera, and it won't autofocus due to the dim light ! Embarrassing situation, he patiently waited with his frozen smile while I fumbled quickly to MF. I just said sorry, very old camera


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7D old meh? :bsmilie: But ya lor, so embarrassing. But I'd prefer to use old school methods with today's tech

 

[clubgrit]

7D old meh? :bsmilie: But ya lor, so embarrassing. But I'd prefer to use old school methods with today's tech

Just an excuse lah . Anyway, all brands in my cameras are covered with tape, nobody can see the camera brand/model I use, unless they are familiar with the look.

Yes, combining techniques is ideal, and use either as desired or needed. Reminds me that even Hasselblad's digital camera can still accept film, they didn't ignore it ...


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[spidey89]

Just an excuse lah . Anyway, all brands in my cameras are covered with tape, nobody can see the camera brand/model I use, unless they are familiar with the look.

Yes, combining techniques is ideal, and use either as desired or needed. Reminds me that even Hasselblad's digital camera can still accept film, they didn't ignore it ...


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Hahahah,I never cover mine :bsmilie:

 

[cimman]

Wow.. is your 14-54 Mk I or Mk II? I'm surprised the Sigma is sharper than the oly lens... which is already known for sharpness..

Thinking of getting the Mk II with 4/3 adapter on my G2...

It's the MK1

 

[cimman]

Of course, sometimes ... like the night safari moving animals . Most of the time, I have very rarely needed ISO 3200 even with f/2 or f/2.8 for night performances or in Singapore streets, or indoor sports - it's usually ISO 400 to 1600, from f/1.1 to f/2.8.

Only stills with f/1.4 ? But 30mm with its wider dof is so much easier than 50, 85 ... and if AF fails because of contrast, there's always MF. An action shot at f/1.4 can be nice.


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unfortunately, my eyes are not good enough for MF. I trust the camera AF more than my eyes, based on experience. At ISO 1600, you can really tell the noise level is starting to kick in. I try to stay away from that unless I've not choice. The other problem with a 30mm prime is that you can't really zoom in on something you want to focus on, things look a lot smaller and focusing is more difficult on smaller objects. I don't think Olympus would be ideal in shooting the Mixed Martial Arts event.

 

[orson]

has anyone tried the 100-300mm panasonic lumix lens. how is it's performance compared to the 14-140mm for shooting stage performance? and more importantly, how much is it?

also, how is the the auto white balance performance of gh2? i am currently using a lumix fz superzoom, and the white balance while shooting stage performance is horrendous - blacks become gray. any tips on this?