AusBonsai

I've used this guy in the past, if anyone wants to test a lens or two. I've used the 100-400 and the 35 1.4 from him, and his customer service was exceptional (I borrowed the 35mm for the birth of my daughter, who was slated to come early but had to be induced 10 days after. He lent me the lens for 3-4 weeks for the price of 2).

http://rentalens.com.au/

100-400:




35 1.4:




I can't say those lenses are worth $2000 each, but they are a lot better than kit lenses, that's for sure.

If anyone is looking for a cheap camera, Clive Peeters is doing a DSLR
http://www.clivepeeters.com.au/products ... 0DKIS.aspx

Cheers

For perspective. One shot at 24mm, one at 99mm. Obviously, the 99mm is a true account of its height. The 24mm shot looks weird.

This Canon range shoots great video as well. An episode of House was shot on the 5D. The weakness is crappy audio. Great image though, if you post produce your sound.

lindsay farr wrote:This Canon range shoots great video as well. An episode of House was shot on the 5D. The weakness is crappy audio. Great image though, if you post produce your sound.

I'm with lindsay, the Hd video on my crop sensor 7D is also very decent especially when used with a good prime lens. I am saving up for a good directional external microphone to rectify the audio issue.
Cheers,
DK

Thanks for all the discussion. Lots of tips.

Sorry I ve been sick and flat on my back all day.

Hayfever!

Grant

Hay fever can be debilitating. Get well Grant.

Dumper wrote:i have the 50mm 1.4 and the 1.2

got the 1.2 first. broke it and i went and get the 1.4.

1.4 build is plastic. 1.2 is better built.

but the different in image quality is not much diff.

unless u are planning to blow the picture up to a billboard size.

if i have the money. i will choose the 1.2 but i have not been taking photos for a while. so 1.4 will do for me

Yep. f1.4 is way more than enough DoF. You don't need f1.2 unless you want to take photos of bonsai under MOONlight condition. I would not want to take bonsai pics higher than f1.8. I think f2 - f4 would be sufficient provided lighting is good. I took the following pics using the available light from just the windows at 7am this morning and no flash. The pics are from f1.8 to f1.2. Notice that the DoF is too shallow for the pics @ f1.2 and even f1.4. Background blur (bokeh) for the out-of-focus is good to make the tree stand out but some features of the tree also fall in these regions. even though this may be desirable if you want a dreamy look for your photos, I guess that f2 would be best in this situation.

Edit: add pics

Great topic and a very interesting read. Thanks very much to everyone who has contributed!

Just got (yesterday) a Pentax K200D with Sigma 18-50mm F3.5-5.6. I've only ever used a point and shoot or relied on my mate for good photos so I'm joining in on the learning curve. After reading this thread it seems I might be needing a new lens. Any recommendations for my camera? I'll mainly be shooting bonsai and my kids.

Thanks,
Steven

Steven wrote:Great topic and a very interesting read. Thanks very much to everyone who has contributed!

Just got (yesterday) a Pentax K200D with Sigma 18-50mm F3.5-5.6. I've only ever used a point and shoot or relied on my mate for good photos so I'm joining in on the learning curve. After reading this thread it seems I might be needing a new lens. Any recommendations for my camera? I'll mainly be shooting bonsai and my kids.

Thanks,
Steven

STEVEN,

Please don't shoot your kids! No matter what they have done.

Grant

Yes thank you to all who have added to this thread.

I hope to get a new 50mm lense soon and experiment with the camera to get the best out of my bonsai photography.

Grant

Steven, maybe learn to drive it first before you get a fixed focus lens. You'll get fine pictures with what you have.

Gavin

kvan64 wrote:
Yep. f1.4 is way more than enough DoF. You don't need f1.2 unless you want to take photos of bonsai under MOONlight condition. I would not want to take bonsai pics higher than f1.8. I think f2 - f4 would be sufficient provided lighting is good. I took the following pics using the available light from just the windows at 7am this morning and no flash. The pics are from f1.8 to f1.2. Notice that the DoF is too shallow for the pics @ f1.2 and even f1.4. Background blur (bokeh) for the out-of-focus is good to make the tree stand out but some features of the tree also fall in these regions. even though this may be desirable if you want a dreamy look for your photos, I guess that f2 would be best in this situation.

Edit: add pics

Personaly Id wouldnt shoot anything bonsai under f8. You would be able to get away with f5.6 but anything under is to shallow. But then again it comes to what ever floats your boat.



Above photo was shot at 50mm f2.8 ISO 200 1/160 (note exposure comp -1)



Above photo was shot at 50mm f2.8 ISO 400 1/400th. You can see how quickly the focus falls off around his hair.



Above photo was shot at 40mm f8 ISO 400 cant give you shutter speed as its a stacked image.

And for those of you that were talking about wide angle lenses distortion.


Shot at 17mm F14 on a 5D

Nice work Go-fish. did you use an ND filter for the last pic?

Hi all,

The NBPCA camera is out of action for a while so I bought my camera in. The subject is Max Candys PJ Fig that is part of the NBPCA.

Please comment on the photo. All suggestions and comments helpful.

Grant