Comments on: Reader Questions – Lenses & PaintShop Pro

By: Am

Am — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 17:06:00 +0000

Most of the time do you use af or manual focus using this 50mm lens?

By: Jmeeksphoto

Jmeeksphoto — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 15:09:00 +0000

I also have the 50 1.4 and it stays on my 50d most of the time. Having had the 1.8, I can say that its worth it to wait for the 1.4. I had my 1.8 for only 5 months before it got stuck on my XSi (450d) during a wedding. Talk about learning to use a focal length. Its so very soft until f/2.5ish, which BTW is pretty sharp. But I feel that I bought a fast lens to use the wide aperture, so why not use it? You don’t buy the 85 1.2 to stop down do you ;)

By: Nova

Nova — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 20:22:03 +0000

I forgot to explain the RAW thing. My computer can’t handle displaying NEF RAW images without a specialized editing program (like LR or The GIMP), and The GIMP is not very conducive to viewing a whole lot of photos at once. In fact, it’s rather terrible about it, like it won’t do it at all as far as I know. So, since The GIMP won’t show me all my photos at once, and windows preview won’t show RAW files, I used to shoot RAW + basic JPG, so I could see what each RAW file was. Now, I don’t have that problem, but since a lot of my photos are stored that way from before, I’ve left it…

Not that all this explaining was really necessary…

By: Nova

Nova — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 20:17:41 +0000

As for working with photo editing software. I recently upgraded to LR 3, and I love it. But, I started with The GIMP (Google that shizz), and I loved it. Mainly because it’s free. Totally, completely free. Upgrades are free. Advice is free. And there ain’t no better price than free.

But, there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch, either, and that runs true here as well. While it is free, very powerful, and very well-looked-after, it will require more work on your part. My workflow nowadays is this: 1) shoot, 2) upload to computer/import to LR (that’s freakin’ sweet), 3) edit, and 4) publish. All this, outside of the actually shooting, is done within LR (I don’t edit my photos very much at all anymore). I bring the photos in, edit, and publish to multiple locations all within Lightroom. You can’t do that with The GIMP. But, if you ever have any questions regarding The GIMP or its use, there are literally hundreds of forums, all packed with all the info you’d ever want, tutorials, how-to’s, etc.

With The GIMP, my workflow was a bit different. Before I get into it, my archiving goes something like this (this is the folder tree as it appears in my computer): */my photos/D700/RAW/2011/03/*. So everything is contained within the folder which corresponds to the day it was shot, in the month it was shot, in the year, with which camera. The need for the “RAW” folder will be explained soon. Not too sophisticated, but it works for my needs. So, My workflow used to go like this: 1) shoot; 2) upload to computer into a Temp folder; 3) sort through photos and place into appropriate folders in my hierarchy; 4) preview them in Windows’ photo preview program, with a window open containing the images I was going through, and a window to move the ones I wanted to edit; 5) edit The Chosen Ones in The GIMP, using their UFRAW plugin; 6) take saved edited copies, and upload to Flickr.

As you can see, the convenience of Lightroom wasn’t there, and that made for more work, and more time at the ‘puter. There’s the downside to using The GIMP. The upside, besides being super-totally-free, is that it is a great place to learn the basics (and more, if you’re so inclined) of image editing. You will learn all about layers and masks, you can make (UGH) HDR if you want, you can do vector graphics, even 3D modeling (though for rendering you want to use Blender). The terminology is the same or very similar to that of PS, so if you start with The GIMP and move on later, you’ll know what a layer mask is, what feathering will do, what different brushes will do, etc.

Plus, it’s totally free.

By: hfng

hfng — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 11:04:06 +0000

Great lens choices! I think the 85mm f1.8 is better than the f1.2 version in terms of price and faster autofocus and weight.

By: Simone

Simone — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 18:03:15 +0000

I agree with you on how the shopping interests have changed,
Instead of buying clothing or whatever I want, I know find myself looking at photography sites, making price comparisons on lenses and other equipment. My current wish list includes the Canon EF 100mm 2.8 Macro lens. From the description and users comments, its seems as though that is the only lens I will ever need. It covers macro and portrait.

Its so funny, you made the analogy, “A weight lifter can’t build his muscles until he picks up the barbells’ that’s so true, I’m never going to learn how to use the flash I purchased, if I leave it in the box!

FLAMEDOT, thanks for providing your feedback on the 50mm 1.8,
I saw it on amazon.com for $99 and thought about getting it as my first prime lens, as you pointed out, I’m not a pro either and this will satisfy my need for a prime lens and stay within my budget.

I love your blog Elizabeth.

By: Gillian Buick

Gillian Buick — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 10:13:42 +0000

Another one who loves their 50mmf/1.8. Most reviews are good, even from pros. Like everything you get what you pay for I suppose!

By: Derek Clayton

Derek Clayton — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 08:10:19 +0000

I have to agree with you Elizabeth, the 50mm 1.8 is…well…a $90 lens. While the cheap construction doesn’t bother me, the only time I find myself using it is when I need a faster lens than my 2.8 (which is only rarely…and only at night…). It’s not very sharp, but maybe I’m just spoiled from shooting with L lenses. It’s nice to have a lightweight lens, but in a sick way I kind of love the feel of a nice piece of heavy glass on my frame :)

By: flamedot

flamedot — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 18:11:02 +0000

I would agree with Nichole. I have a Canon 50mm f/1.8 and it is the best! Yes it is plastic and noisy to boot, but it auto-focuses and you can pick one up for under £100 on Amazon. As a non-pro the f/1.8 suits just fine :)

By: Sandy

Sandy — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 17:59:27 +0000

I have the 50mm F1.4 and I LOVE IT!! I also have the 28-135mm but it pretty much just sits in my camera bag most the time. The 50mm is a great clear lens, perfect for bokeh!