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[OM] Re: OT What lenses for the D3? [was 14 is the new 12]

Subject: [OM] Re: OT What lenses for the D3? [was 14 is the new 12]
From: Moose <olymoose@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 27 Jan 2008 00:54:47 -0800
Johnny Johnson wrote:
> At 05:35 AM 1/24/2008, Moose wrote:
>   
>> Beyond that, you have to keep moving; they are on a relatively tight 
>> schedule and can't leave anyone running around loose. The fellow in the 
>> first Casa del Monte image is the guide gesturing me to hustle up. Then the 
>> rooms are full of fellow tourists until the last moment. So I was regularly 
>> waiting to be the last one out, then run to catch up. Once the guide felt he 
>> could trust me to keep up, that wasn't too bad.
>>     
> The absence of people in the shots made me wonder if y'all had somehow 
> arranged a private tour.  I'm glad the guide accommodated you - it made for 
> some special shots.
>   
It was a matter of setting up for the shot, waiting patiently for the 
last person to clear the frame, shooting, then hustling up so the guide 
would see I was keeping up. His 'accommodation' was pretty tight. I 
guess they get in big trouble if they lose control and someone strays, 
so he was a bit nervous every time I was out of his sight. going through 
the Roman Pool at the end, another guide came in behind us and kept us 
moving towards the bus outside.

>> - NeatImage. I'm sure other apps would do. I happen to have NeatImage. PS NR 
>> isn't really as good with these iso3200 images. I did check the settings at 
>> 100% to fine tune the noise/detail balance.
>>     
> I haven't tried NeatImage yet but - I normally limit myself to iso800 anyway.
>   
I'm not going to claim it's better than Noise Ninja or the other one, 
the name of which escapes me. When I looked into NR some time ago, NI 
and NN seemed to be about equally effective. I prefer to stay at 800 or 
below, too, but that would mean missing almost all of the interior shots 
or having a lot of blurry shots.

>> - Linear distortion correction. I did this second on the theory that it 
>> would distort noise patterns and make NR less effective. I doubt it matters 
>> much, if at all. Certainly not at this display size.
>>     
> Was that done in Adobe Camera Raw or a third party application?
>   
Done in PS. Edit=>Transform=>Distort. Am I missing something? I don't 
see distortion correction in ACR. I've also found that 
Filter=>Distort=>Lens Correction can't fully deal with two axis distortion.

>> - ShadowHighlight or Levels to lift the darker tones. LCE, then curves to 
>> adjust tonal distribution.
>>     
>
> Have you tried the Clarity slider in Adobe Camera Raw for LCE instead of 
> using unsharp mask in Photoshop?  I haven't done any side by side comparisons 
> yet but, based on a few raw conversions, the Clarity slider looks promising.
>   
I've twiddled it, but not seriously. I suppose I should test it out to 
see if it controls the halos and whether is it effectively applied 
before NR.

LCE often causes halos that require access to the unadjusted layer for a 
mask. NR works better applied before any application of USM. NI NR is 
more flexible and effective than PS NR, and I sort of assume it's the 
same algorithms in ACR. So I have a work order that I know, and am in no 
hurry to fix what ain't broken. But I'm techie and twiddler enough that 
I'll probably do a comparison sometime.

>> Here's one taken a little closer, showing a fellow with waders and his 4x5 
>> camera working for that magic shot. He didn't know I'd taken shots of him 
>> and his patient companion until they were leaving and I asked for an email 
>> address so I could get copies to him.
>> <http://moosemystic.net/Gallery/MPhotos/Misc/timo/slides/_MG_1613cr.html>
>>     
> I like this one much better than the first one that you posted.  I'd like it 
> even better I think if the fellow had a bit more room below him but it's 
> still a pretty shot.
>   
Tough call. I wanted the falls to appear big and impressive compared to 
the human. Going wider or stepping back, as in the earlier posted image, 
would diminish them. It's better than the one with just his head in it - 
by mistake. It conveys something of what it feels like where he was 
standing.

>> Here's almost the full scope of the falls, but it really plays down the left 
>> side, small as it is from perspective, and partially hidden by topography.
>> <http://galleries.moosemystic.net/MooseFoto/index.php?gallery=Miscellaneous&image=MossBraeP116laz.jpg>
>>     
> I think this one is better than the first also.  The boulder in the lower 
> left gives a nice balance to the falls on the right.
>   
I didn't post it before as the subject was the wide end of the 17-35. It 
is a stitched panorama of 35mm portrait format shots.
>> The falls are so wide and so close that being there is an experience very 
>> difficult to convey in an image. Magic place.
>>     
> I shoot a lot of waterfalls and it's also not unusual for me to come across 
> one that I can't capture to my satisfaction.  Most of the ones around here 
> though are pretty small so I don't face the same problems that you did.
>   
It turns out that So. Central Oregon is just full of waterfalls. All 
different sorts, from wide and low, through doubles through some quite 
tall ones. I have quite a few images from last summer, but haven't gone 
through them to make a gallery yet. Getting good angles and shots in 
thick forest with often quite limited light is a challenge. I really 
wanted to get to the bottom of a couple where it looked like a day's 
hike in and out. Again, the 17-35 helped in tight quarters.

>> I can go whole days of shooting without bringing out the 17-35, but it makes 
>> possible shots that are otherwise not possible.
>>     
> Well, you certainly put it to good use in those captures.  
Thanks for the kind words. It's sort of a specialty lens for me, but 
indispensable in some circumstances.
> Thanks for taking the time to point me to them and answering my questions.
>   
You are very welcome. I find that explaining what I've done often makes 
it clearer to me and I sometimes learn something new from questions.

Moose

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