Member Jack MacD

Stuart,
Your SSD solution sounds smart.
In my case I have an iMac for studio, and the Air will be for the road.
I thought I could avoid a laptop on the road, but on every photo trip I missed it, and my old MacBook Pro is heavy, slow, maxed at 3Gig, battery that lasts 5 minutes, etc. I have given it a new battery, new hard drive, more Ram,…[Read more]

What's the advantage of the i7 vs i5 David?

David,
So you want USB 3.0 on your Mac? So would we all. Stay with your PC, as 3.0 is going to be added to a Mac right after Jobs adds Blue Ray disk readers and writers, and you know it.

Since I want to use a MacBook Air for photo travel, I would have been happy if it had FireWire 800, but that's not going to happen. Nor is 3.0. So…[Read more]

You got to the right place at the right time! With the right equipment for what can be a huge enlargement.
I initially viewed this on an iPhone, and it improperly cropped the shot. Sort of a joke to view on an iPhone, but the elements of design are always visible, unless it gives one an unintended crop. Then I looked at it on my iPad and it…[Read more]

For a shot with that much range of focus depth, I would reccommend focus stacking. Got to have zero wind on the flower, and a tripod
helical makes great software to do it and you can get a free trial.

http://www.heliconsoft.com/heliconfocus.html

You can do it in Photoshop as described…[Read more]

David the noise option would be very cool.
There are times when a high frame rate is no big deal, so the optional tradeoff would be very nice. Glad to hear it can be done if Leica wants to do so.

I also agree on wanting the option to switch the direction of setting f stop. My brain is programed the opposite direction, and there is no…[Read more]

f11 gives a bit of depth. If it doesn't, there is always focus stacking. Didn't need it this time, but it's always a nice option.
The 120mm does not allow you to get 1:1. Cropping does. That affects perceived depth of focus. Haven't tried a close up filter yet. That for sure would require focus stacking.

David put me onto the Elincrom Ranger QUadra. It's a battery powered light weight 400ws portable strobe. I use a single head firing through a diffusing umbrella to avoid harsh shadows, also allows for a high f stop. Pretty easy set up.

I agree with David on selling separate, but occasionally a buyer needs a lens you have.
That happened when I sold my M8.

No, and I have discovered that if a light source is off camera, it is rarely changes the mood.

No it won't overpower the sun, but shadow fill might work. For me, I would use it indoors in low light. I'm very slowly working on a bar project where I need fill light at the temperature of candle light. At that point, I put away my flash and my umbrella strobes. I bought a cheap LED for this purpose, but even with it's filter and power…[Read more]

Kurt,
Seems the 120 look is a clear improvement over the 75 1.4 you sold when leaving the M system. Nice.

Mark,
Learning a new software is difficult, Photoshop more so.

I was taught PS 3.0 in 1996 or so. I was taught by a designer in 30 minute sessions. I would merely ask how to do one thing I needed at a time. David has now taught you one thing you needed.
To try and learn the whole thing at once is like saying you need to learn Japanese in…[Read more]

Kurt, just borrow my SF58 for an hour indoors and out, and you will get the hang of it.
Digital allows you to learn from feedback fast.

I am not understanding David's swivel bounce advice exactly. David, are you turning your camera in portrait mode for the shot? I prefer to always have the flash above the subject, which means for a vertical…[Read more]

The systems are pretty similar at this point in time. Not enough edge in one versus the other to promote switching either way.
However, if you don't have your own IT person to aid you, or you are not fully qualified to be your own IT person, the support system at Apple stores for individual Mac users is pretty compelling. If you are your own IT…[Read more]