any suggestion for wide angle lens (Rebel XT)?

[Kuper 0]

hi,
any suggestions for a 10-14 (+-) mm lens that will suit Digital Rebel XT?
please specify the manufactor and model...

thanx!
Ori.

http://www.orikuper.printroom.com

[vdschoor 0]

hmm.. 10-14?

I use the Sigma 15mm on my 20D, and I used to use it on my Digital Rebel.
Several camera people at my dz now use it on the Rebel XT and they are very happy with the results.

Iwan

[Miami 0]

Quote

any suggestions for a 10-14 (+-) mm lens that will suit Digital Rebel XT?
please specify the manufactor and model...

When I get my Rebel XT I will be drooling over this until I save up enough cash. The weight/size is not much more than the Sigma 15mm, it's a USM, and gives a little more versatility than a fixed lens. Anyone know if that logic is flawed?
Hope this helps...

Miami

[vdschoor 0]

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The weight/size is not much more than the Sigma 15mm, it's a USM, and gives a little more versatility than a fixed lens. Anyone know if that logic is flawed?

Nothing wrong with that logic, and from what I've seen.. that is a very nice lens!
I had the opportunity to jump that lens a couple of weeks ago, but I had to decline, since it was a jump where I needed to know my equipment, and I know what I can do with my 15mm.

Personally, I prefer fixed focal length lenses in freefall, but that's just me...

Iwan

[Kuper 0]

i'll check those two, but i understood that the prices for Sigma are lower and most of the time the optical quality is even better then the Canon though...
and here comes the million dollar Q - will i get ERR99 with the Sigma? well if so - shit!!!!!!

I do want to buy a fixed one, by the way. it seems that you don't have to scare about those sticky tapes on the fixed ones... is it so?

vdschoor - I noticed you sometimes use even wider lens then the 15 ('fun with fisheye'). you use it a lot?

thanx,
Ori.



PS - and if someone here have a wide lens he doesn't need anymore - please contact me asap...

http://www.orikuper.printroom.com

[vdschoor 0]

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and here comes the million dollar Q - will i get ERR99 with the Sigma? well if so - shit!!!!!!

You might.. but.. not if you buy a new one today, you might run into this if you buy an older one off of eBay or something like that.

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I do want to buy a fixed one, by the way. it seems that you don't have to scare about those sticky tapes on the fixed ones... is it so?

you don't need AS MUCH sticky tape
I still tape down the focus ring, to make sure it doesn't move (I shoot fully manual normally) but yes.. one little piece of tape does the trick there.

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vdschoor - I noticed you sometimes use even wider lens then the 15 ('fun with fisheye'). you use it a lot?

I don't use it enough but I did some fun stuff with it on the ground this weekend.
It's really a specialty lens that is useless for most stuff.. but it makes for some fun shots...

It's the 8mm Peleng circular fisheye.

[sdctlc 0]

I just ordered a Sigma 15mm f/2.8 EX Diagonal Fish-Eye for Canon AF

I was looking around and checking resellerrating.com and was going to just order it from B&H for $469 but ran across "Sigma 4 Less" http://www.resellerratings.com/seller9336.html They were offering it for $385 plus shipping. They have a rating at 9.62.. Not a huge number of reviews but still no bad marks.. Giving them a try and should have the lens before the weekend..

We will see.... talked to them on the phone before th eorder and they seemed on the ball and were not pushy..

Scott C.

"He who Hesitates Shall Inherit the Earth!"

[mr2mk1g 10]

Oddly enough your thread coincides with the arrival in the post of a Zenitar 16mm fisheye lens this morning.

It gets great reviews on the web and is hailed as one of the few very budget lenses which actually produces great results.

The advertising blurb is all about how its Russian space program optics etc and how the Kiev based company is a respected manufacturer out there.

I'll take a look at the lens tonight and let you know if you like. Costs the princely sum of £65 off Ebay and comes with a canon eos mount. There's no electrics in the lens mind so you have to run the camera on manual.

[Kuper 0]

wow - the price of it sounds very atractive, but i'm affraid of this 'non electric' thing; with infinity focus all the time i might miss something (?) and with no electricity it sounds a camera like D-Rebel might go crazy (i can't believe how i'm afraid of ERR).

make sense, or should i cut the bullshit?

http://www.orikuper.printroom.com

[DancingFlame 0]

First of all, just because Zenitar has no 'electric things' your RebelXT will not ERR99 on you.
Second of all, Zenitar is a bit thinnerand lighter than Sigma.
Third of all, one can boy 4 Zenitars instead of 1 Sigma :)

We have at least 4 cameramen with Zenitar lens. All of them are happy with that lens.
And I'm going to buy one for myself

[mr2mk1g 10]

Oh my god that is a nice lens. As I said I only picked it up from the post office yesterday morning and last night was my first go with it. (Running it on a Canon 300D).

No electrics doesn't mean your camera is going to have a problem with it – it just means you have to do certain things yourself rather than let your all singing and dancing camera do it for you. This means you have to set the aperture yourself (with a ring on the lens) and you have to do the focus it yourself (this ought not be an issue for most camera flyers right? I thought the prevailing theory was to lock your focus off in manual at the right distance then fly your body to maintain that distance). I hate auto as the lens always wants to seek instead of shoot at those crucial moments.

It's much shorter than the stock 18-55 lens (it's about a half to two thirds the length). But it is rather heavier (all that quality glass I guess).

As I said it's £65 off ebay, and that's the buy-it-now price not simply a bargain I found.

If anyone wants a proper review of this lens with some pickies and measurements etc I'll take a stab at posting one although I don't doubt there are more qulified on here to do so. Otherwise do a google search and there's quite a wealth of info out there about it already.

[Miami 0]

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...This means you have to set the aperture yourself (with a ring on the lens)...

It would be an area like this I would be afraid of running into trouble. I'm not educated enough as a photographer to be able to look at a situation and pick the right aperture for it, and hell, right now I only have a vague idea for using the right shutter speed.

Guess that means it's time to start looking into going to photography school... The lens sounds pretty good and that price is a hell of a lot better than anything else I've seen.
Thanks for the info!

Miami

[mr2mk1g 10]

The aperture setting is something I'm going to have to read more about too. I suspect though its a lot like ISO speeds in that you can stick it on pretty much the same one all day.

The nice thing is, as you change the aperture setting the viewfinder gets visably lighter and darker... thus it should be really easy to set it to the right setting and get the lighting right.

That said... I seem to remember there being something about depth of field related to the aperture setting too... as I said, something to read up on.

[Stumpy 256]

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The nice thing is, as you change the aperture setting the viewfinder gets visably lighter and darker... thus it should be really easy to set it to the right setting and get the lighting right.

Really? I guess this must be to do with the fact that it is a fully manual lens on an auto body. Every camera i have had in the past, the aperture setting only comes into effect when you take the shot, which is why most cameras have a "depth of field preview" button. (someone tell me if i am mistaken on that!)

Oh and general rule is the smaller the aperture (bigger number - f16 for example,) the greater the depth of field and vice versa.

WIth skydiving the lighting is USUALLY reasonably good (of course we don't jump anywhere near clouds in the UK.... ) so you should have a range of apertures and shutter speeds to choose from depending on what you are trying to do.

Edited to add: If you are in program mode and adjust the aperture, does the camera pick this up and adjust the shutter speed correspondingly? I guess that may be why you see change in light coming through the lens.....

Never try to eat more than you can lift

[chopchop 0]

Hi guys.. Regarding the Russian lens.. I've got about 400 jumps on that little sucker. Great lens but I just upgraded to the Sigma. I shoot alot of tandems and changing the settings on my camera from indoors to outdoors and in the plane to out of the plane becomes a bit of a pain.

About my last jump before I upgraded.. I forgot to change the settings back and got a huge batch of washed out photos.

If you are not using this for work and are just fun-jumping, it is a great lens. If you are going to be busy doing 8 or 9 work jumps a day.. get something a little less fussy.

chopchop
gotta go... Plaything needs a spanking..

Lotsa Pictures

[Zee 0]

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No electrics doesn't mean your camera is going to have a problem with it – it just means you have to do certain things yourself rather than let your all singing and dancing camera do it for you. This means you have to set the aperture yourself (with a ring on the lens) and you have to do the focus it yourself (this ought not be an issue for most camera flyers right? I hate auto as the lens always wants to seek instead of shoot at those crucial moments.

Auto Focus works just fine on the Canon 300D in freefall. The reason your camera is searching for focus lock is because it has nothing to focus on.

Use a good sight and dial in your SLR so you know exactly where it's pointed at all times and you'll have no problem using auto focus in freefall.

As far as using all manual settings - very outdated theory. Does it work? Sure it does. If you intend on flying either above OR below the clouds facing exactly the same direction exactly the same distance away from your subject at exactly the same angle the entire skydive, sure, it'll work just fine.

You only have so much exposure latitude to work with - as you move around your subject in freefall, the lighting conditions change - in order to achieve correct exposure, your camera settings need to change too. The same goes for focus settings - sure, you can set it up for Infinity and then spend the entire skydive at least 12 feet away - doesn't make for very dynamic or interesting photos though. Or, you can set it up for 3.541 feet and fly your body exactly 3.541 feet away and you might get a few good shots - or you could simply choose to take advantage of the millions in R&D that are already mounted on your head, and fly around your subject - get above, get below, move in, move out, and odds are, you'll have some pretty interesting shots when pull time comes around.



Peace,
Z

Action©Sports

[sdctlc 0]

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you can set it up for Infinity and then spend the entire skydive at least 12 feet away - doesn't make for very dynamic or interesting photos though. Or, you can set it up for 3.541 feet and fly your body exactly 3.541 feet away and you might get a few good shots - or .........

You play in the hyperfocal range where you get it focused and have about 1/2 distance before and infinate distance behind in focus. Lots of charts and information out there on this topic...

If you like math you can do it by hand (all stolen from outsite.com section on hyperfocal stuff)

Hyperfocal Distance
Setting focus at the Hyperfocal Distance gives maximum depth of field from H/2 to infinity.


H = (L x L) / (f x d)
Where:
H = Hyperfocal Distance (in millimeters)
L = lens focal length (ie, 35mm, 105mm)
f = lens aperture f-stop
d = diameter of circle of least confusion (in millimeters)
for 35mm format d = 0.03
for 6x6cm format d = 0.06
for 4x5in format d = 0.15

Near Focus Limit

NF = (H x D) / (H + (D - L))
Where:
NF = Near Focus Limit (millimeters)
H = Hyperfocal Distance (in millimeters, from above equation.)
D = lens focus distance (in millimeters)
L = lens focal length (ie, 35mm, 105mm)

Far Focus Limit

FF = (H x D) / (H - (D - L))
Where:
FF = Far Focus Limit (millimeters)
H = Hyperfocal Distance (in millimeters, from above equation)
D = lens focus distance (in millimeters)
L = lens focal length (ie, 35mm, 105mm)


Or just go to a calculator that lets you make allowances for the digital sensor conversion factor and will give you the hyoperfocal distance to focus on to give infinity in focus and well as a near point (about 1/2 the focus distance)

http://www.outsight.com/hyperfocal.html#hyper

Scott C

"He who Hesitates Shall Inherit the Earth!"

[Zee 0]

Excellent point - The Hyperfocal Distance of a given lens at a given aperture size is most often used in landscape photography in order to achieve extremely sharp and accurate focus with an extreme DOF. It's a great way to keep both subjects near and far in focus at the same time. One thing that jumps out at me about using this technique in freefall is that there usually isn't anything between you and your subject to keep in focus (it's rather difficult to keep open air in focus anyway).

Another problem with using Hyperfocal Distances in freefall is that they vary depending upon the chosen aperture. In other words, you're still limiting yourself to a set distance (and beyond since you're basically changing the infinity setting of your lens) from your subject but now you're forced to use the same aperture for the duration of the skydive as well.

In addition, you also need to take in to consideration that you'll need a fairly high shutter speed to eliminate motion blur from flapping cheeks and jumpsuits - That leaves you with only the ISO setting to adjust for accurate exposure.

Will it work? - Absolutely. Is it practical? Uhhh, don't think so.

Again, why not just utilize the good stuff that's already mounted on your head? Auto Focus works just fine in freefall if you just keep your subject framed long enough for the camera to work it's magic.

Just my 2 cents....

Peace,
Z

Action©Sports

[AndyMan 7]

I agree.


I started off using manual settings, following the "standard advice".

I quickly got frustrated because I do a wide variety of different shooting, and I'm far too lazy to to be doing math throughout the day to calculate the desired settings.

Not only do I shoot with different subjects - tandem, 4way, crw, I also shoot from above, below, and with different lenses. Figuring out the correct manual focus settings for each adventure has been frustrating. There's nothing like the feeling of coming down from a spectacular and beautiful jump only to discover I'm out of focus.

I've been gradually making the shift to shooting entirely AF. So far, I've only been let down when I shoot manual.

_Am

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[Zee 0]

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I agree.


I started off using manual settings, following the "standard advice".

I quickly got frustrated because I do a wide variety of different shooting, and I'm far too lazy to to be doing math throughout the day to calculate the desired settings.

Not only do I shoot with different subjects - tandem, 4way, crw, I also shoot from above, below, and with different lenses. Figuring out the correct manual focus settings for each adventure has been frustrating. There's nothing like the feeling of coming down from a spectacular and beautiful jump only to discover I'm out of focus.

I've been gradually making the shift to shooting entirely AF. So far, I've only been let down when I shoot manual.

_Am

I know what you mean. But hey, why listen to that kind of advice when you can freely experiment and discover what works best for you?

Personally, I'll never understand why someone would pay the big bucks for a nice SLR and then limit themselves by using all manual settings just so they can say "I only use manual mode".

I look at it this way: People pay me to document their skydive with (what hopefully turns out to be) a wide array of cool, sharply focused, and accurately exposed pictures. Preferably from a variety of distances and angles. I'm blind as a fuckin' bat - Even with my contacts and my years of experience, there just ain't NFW that I can compete with the modern metering and focusing systems in any of my cameras - be it digital or otherwise. To limit myself to manual settings alone would be a great disservice to my customers.

Manual settings are great for artistic expression and specific situations - they just ain't that great when it comes to getting the most out of your equipment on each skydive.

Nice shot, Andy. Quite appropriate to the discussion too as I've found that shooting at night with a flash is one of the few situations that works better when I set up the shot manually

Peace,

Z

Action©Sports

[basehoundsam 0]

Just for the record..... I love my 10-22 lens. It is much much more versitile than a fixed 15. I have shot a few thousand air to air photo's with it and a 20D, and am as happy as a clam. You are more than welcome to play with my setup this weekend at the dz.

Jay Epstein Ramirez
www.adrenalineexploits.com