#34. 7D vs 5D Mk II

I have been saving up to get the 5D Mk II, but now I'm not sure if I want the 7D or the 5D.

http://www.sandrophoto.com/2010/03/17/canon-eos-7d-vs-5d-mark-ii/
http://photo.net/canon-eos-digital-camera-forum/00Y0K1?start=0


I don't do much studio shooting, so right now, the 7D is a better fit. I'm waiting to see what the 5D Mk III has in store!

#33. I'm back!

It's been way too long since I've updated!

I got my camera fixed for $80 and it's working like new! Thank god...

Assisted a photoshoot this morning for a local theatre company. It was awesome to work with a light kit! The photographer has a Calumet 750 set with 2 reflector umbrellas and a giant soft box (4'x3' I think...)

Here are things I'm saving up for:
- 5D Mk II ($2,500)
- EF 24-70 f/2.8L USM ($1,299)

If I get the tour or NYC, I will buy the 5D Mk II.

#32. Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!

I stupidly tried to clean my focus mirror because there was so much dust inside, and I accidentally scratched it up. Also, the spring on the mirror is off it's track. I have to bring it to a repair shop on Monday. I wish they were open today. Good news is that it should cost less than $100...

NEVER stick a microfiber cloth inside the camera. Learned that the hard way...

#31. Car trails

I've done a few car trails before and tried them again tonight, but they didn't turn out the way I wanted. The headlights were blowing out the picture, and the background was too dark. Here's one shot I was okay with.

50mm ~ f/10 ~ ISO 100 ~ 2s

I should try again with a longer exposure and a tripod. I held my camera on a fire hydrant to steady it.

#30. Happy New Year!

I went to Borders and bought "Digital Photography Lighting for Dummies" today. It's a great read so far! I've been wanting to gander into more lighting for a while.

I found this site from a Canon forum and decided to give it a try. I still prefer Flickr at the moment.
http://365project.org/cheriet/365

#29. Gear gear gear!

Here's a list of gear that I currently have and want to get.

Current Gear:
- Canon 450D (XSi)
- 50mm MkI f/1.8
- Kit lens 17-55
- 75-300mm III
- SB-50DX Nikon Flash (borrowed)
- Lowepro Nova 180 AW
- SLIK 512QF Tripod
- Canon Battery
- Opteka Battery
- Two 4gb class 6 SD card
- One 2gb class 6 SD card
- Two Vivitar UV filters
- Lens cleaning cloth & brush

Gear I want to get:
- Monopod
- Attachment head
- Lens hoods
- Battery Grip (Maybe)
- 1 or 2 extra batteries
- Two 4/8gb class 8/10 SD cards

#28. Post Editing & 365 Project 9-15

I've been editing my photos in Lightroom, and trying to make my photos look good. I almost always add vignettes. While editing my Christmas photos, I found myself raising contrast and saturation in a lot of my photos, but they did look a lot better. I've also been trying out a lot of the Lr presets. My favorite so far is Color Preset 2.

Here are my photos from my 365 Project.

Day 9/365. 12/19/10
Keighty in Norristown. A car turning left shone light on K80's face.
This might be one of my favorite night shots.
50mm ~ f/1.8 ~ 1/50s ~ ISO 1600

See on Flickr - http://goo.gl/Iwrmd

Day 10/365. 12/21/10 (1am)
Stages of the moon during the eclipse. Stayed out from 1am-4:30am.
300mm ~ f/11 (f/6.3) ~ ISO 100 (400) ~ 1/25s (2.0s)

See on Flickr - http://goo.gl/X4GlY

Day 11/365. 12/21/10
Light Graffiti Christmas Tree. Merry Christmas!
18mm~ f/11 ~ ISO 100 ~ 25s

See on Flickr - http://goo.gl/bFEFq

Day 12/365. 12/22/10
The Beserkers in the greenroom.
50mm ~ f/1.8 ~ ISO 200 ~ 1/100s
Used Photoshop to do a high pass layer, and then added the Sepia effect in Lightroom. (High Pass tutorial - http://strobist.blogspot.com/2010/02/after-light-high-pass-post-production.html)

See on Flickr - http://goo.gl/9277U

Day 13/365. 12/23/10
Septa train at Market East. Playing around with shutter speed to get the trail effect.
50mm ~ f/1.8 ~ ISO 200 ~ 1/4s

Day 14/365. 12/24/10.
Christmas Eve Present!
50mm ~ f/1.8 ~ ISO 100 ~ 1/200s
SB-50 hotshoe flash

See on Flickr - http://goo.gl/uFeSj

Day 15/365. 12/25/10.
Christmas fun with Ben!
50mm ~ f/1.8 ~ ISO 1600 ~ 1/50s
Lr3 - Adjusted from CP2

See on Flickr - http://goo.gl/r0Gn2