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May, 2025

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84891jnf92048
Posts: 11552 - Karma: 2,550
its in the other forums, why not here? so, any "what camera should i buy?", "what is a good song", etc. questions go here.
15 years ago
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No.Quarter
Posts: 5257 - Karma: 16,966
So I am interested in buying a Canon A1 and was wondering if anyone wants to help me with some lens research and building my lens quiver.

Telephoto zoom category:
Canon 70-150 F4.5 FD (52)-$25
Click for larger image
or
Canon 100-300 F5.6 FD (58)-$29
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or
Canon 80-200 F4 FD (58)-$37
Click for larger image

The 70-150 wouldn't leave any focal length gaps in my lens quiver, but wouldn't zoom as far. The 80-200 would zoom further, but would leave a 10mm gap, and the 100-300 would zoom really far, but would leave a 30mm gap and is a pretty long lens. Are there much of a quality difference in these lenses? What about how mugh ligh gets let in, etc.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"zoom, prime, or both" category:
So I am definitely getting a Canon 35-70 F4 FD (52) as my general purpose zoom (or another similar non-canon model):
Click for larger image
However it looks to be somewhat bulky when compared to a:
Canon 50 F1.8 FD (52)-$21
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or a
Canon 28 F2.8 FD (52)-$29
Click for larger image
The 50 is considered a standard lens while the 28 is considered a wide angle, so which one would fit better in my quiver? Also quality is a consideration.

Since this camera is somewhat of a "classic", I would like to use Canon lenses, but if there is a better non-canon lens similar to the ones I am considering I would definitely take that into consideration. I will be purchasing on KEH.com and I do have a budget, so for telephoto, my budget is $40, for primes it is $30

Links:
Canon zoom lenses:
Non-canon zoom:

Canon Primes:
Non-Canon primes:


Thank you for any help
12 years ago
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Laurent.
Posts: 10056 - Karma: 25,311
^

Go to a thrift shop.

See lenses for not even dollars but pennies.

Buy them all.
12 years ago
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Mag
Posts: 8155 - Karma: 14,798
Next time I'm in the Netherlands I'm gonna harvest all your thrift shops.
12 years ago
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Laurent.
Posts: 10056 - Karma: 25,311
You will never even find them.
12 years ago
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No.Quarter
Posts: 5257 - Karma: 16,966
I would definately do that if thrift shops where i live weren't complete shit. But I reaaly wouln't have much control over what lenses i want vs what i could buy
12 years ago
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CheddarJack
Posts: 5203 - Karma: 7,380
what are people's opinions on fisheye attachments for lenses? Are they worth the ~$30 on ebay or would it be better to buy a fisheye lens?

and what about different widths? Whenever I see a .18X all I can think of is old skateboarding videos but getting a .5X feels almost useless... I figured somewhere in between would be bets but idk where... what are your preferences? Thanks!
12 years ago
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.qzyxya
Posts: 1479 - Karma: -26
Better than tok 11 16 by far
12 years ago
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[~_~]
Posts: 20239 - Karma: 1,273
"Minolta makes the best bodies, Nikon makes the best glass, and Canon makes the best compromise."
12 years ago
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No.Quarter
Posts: 5257 - Karma: 16,966
but would lenses from those companies work on the different bodies? i.e.

nikon on canon
nikon on minolta
etc
12 years ago
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[~_~]
Posts: 20239 - Karma: 1,273
No, just remember that when it comes to vintage SLRs, Canon/Nikon aren't the "top dogs" like they are when it comes to DSLRs - not even close.
12 years ago
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No.Quarter
Posts: 5257 - Karma: 16,966
So canon a canon body and lens would be in the middle of a minolta body and lens and a nikon body and lens? Or would canon be on the low end? compromise meaning a compromise between the two or compromise meaning shitty?

So M&A, if you had my budget, what would you buy? $60 for body. $40 for general purpose zoom. $40 for telephoto zoom. $30 for 50mm and under prime?
12 years ago
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No.Quarter
Posts: 5257 - Karma: 16,966
oops, one too many words
12 years ago
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No.Quarter
Posts: 5257 - Karma: 16,966
bump
12 years ago
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[~_~]
Posts: 20239 - Karma: 1,273
It's just a cute saying. One could very well argue that it's bullshit because camera design is largely subjective.

When it comes to film cameras, the body is just a black box that opens and closes (more or less). What you want are features that work for you; it isn't about some hierarchy or one having better specs than the other (for the most part). If you can't take good photos on a Canon system, a Nikon or Minolta or Leica won't be any better.


In my experience I hate canon bodies because the viewfinder sucks, and overall the button layout feels convoluted (though FD lenses are gorgeous). I like Nikons because to me they are very sophisticated for how minimal the layout is, and they have excellent viewfinders. Pentax Spotmatics are great bare-bones bodies, and the Super Tak primes are among the nicest glass I've ever used (better than L glass by a long shot).

Of the three, Nikon is the most expensive because their lenses are in high demand (video shooters = scum of the earth). Minoltas are dirt cheap, though I don't have any experience with their bodies or lenses so I can't comment on them. Pentax is both dirt cheap, and their lenses are astounding.
12 years ago
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No.Quarter
Posts: 5257 - Karma: 16,966
I am pretty new to photography , so bear with me a bit.

How can a view finder be bad? it seems so simple to me that it seems that it would be hard for a company to make a bad viewfinder. What makes Canon VFs worse? I have a EOS Film SLR from to late 90's and I don't really see anything wrong with the VF except for surface scratches.

By FD lenses being gorgeous do you mean you like the way they look or like the way they perform

I really don't care all that much about a complicated layout as I wont be using a vintage camera for any thing that needs me to be quick. In fact a complicated layout just seems like an opportunity to really learn the camera and slow down to try to really take good shots.
Scenario: I am on a photography hike mission and I have my EOS hanging from one shoulder and my vintage on the other. A mountain biker comes shredding down the trail or a deer bounds through the trees. I grab my EOS and quickly get a pic. I turn a corner to see a beautiful landscape in front of me. I spend 10 minutes setting up my equipment to make sure that shot is the best it can be.

Since I already own a Canon EF mount camera, it is only logical to me that a FD to EF adapter would excel over a Nikon to EF or others to EF. I do know adapters aren't the best quality optics, and I haven't done much research on this.

Also, I want my camera to be a piece of art when it is sitting on my shelf. The Canon is the best looking to me. The Nikon looks okay, but the Pentax and the Minolta look boring IMO

I know I sound really biased, but I tend to be that kind of way.

So back to my main topics. If I do go with a canon, what lenses to buy. The 100-300mm is out due to some research saying the 80-200mm and 70-150mm were superior. the 70-150 is also out because I want that extra 50 mm. So now it is the 28mm vs the 50mm and the 35-70mm vs the Tokina 35-105mm F3.5-4.3 tokina
12 years ago
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[~_~]
Posts: 20239 - Karma: 1,273
Quite the opposite, actually.

Canon's viewfinders are just small. I like Nikon's because its circular and doesn't feel like a toy. (There's also quite a bit of variation between viewfinder design. Some are objectively better than others).

FD lenses are "gorgeous" because of the images they produce. The actual lenses themselves look lame in my opinion (not that matters at all).

Since you can't mount FD to EF without using a crappy glass adapter, it nullifies the whole point of shooting vintage glass. Funny how vintage Nikon primes fit EOS bodies better than FD lenses...

My advice: don't buy into the novelty of your camera "looking cool." You will be stoked for the first month but after you will wish you went for function over fashion. It's okay, this happens to everyone when they start shooting. My personal philosophy is that cameras are first and foremost tools; disregard looks and acquire currency.
12 years ago
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No.Quarter
Posts: 5257 - Karma: 16,966
I dont think I will get a Spotmatic, but rather a K1000, because M42 lenses are pretty expensive compared to the K mount for the K1000. I realize that right now I should really only get something with manual controls if I don't want to be tempted to use auto, so that takes the Minolta X-700 and Canon A-1 out, for now. The Nikon is pretty much out for lens prices. I might buy a Canon A-1 later just because there seems to be so many FD lenses.

12 years ago
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jibcrew1
Posts: 1505 - Karma: 522
what is a good laptop to invest in for editing that will run creative cloud programs and stand up to everyday usage i dont know a lot about laptops i also dont have a huge budget so the cheaper the better at the moment
12 years ago
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eheath
Posts: 61957 - Karma: 126,732
Even though I like my windows desktop, I will always stand by my macbook pro. But not everyone can afford that, I understand. I know some guys can chime in on good windows laptops but you definitely want i7 at least 8gb of ram and a decent nvidia GPU and if you can afford it an sdd boot drive, which are harder to come by in laptops since they have limited space.
12 years ago
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a_pla5tic_bag
Posts: 9244 - Karma: 5,695
forget the laptop and build a desktop unless you need to carry it around. i7 is best but an i5 will work fine, jsut get a pretty good video card. also linux n00bs, anybody able to change color profiles or maybe import other ones that other OS's use? this one on 12.04 is too blue.
12 years ago
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jibcrew1
Posts: 1505 - Karma: 522
i do need to carry it around
12 years ago
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[J_Gasper]
Posts: 2983 - Karma: 1,594
stupid question, but does anyone know what camera jake strassman uses? I have been watching some of his recent windells edits and its gotta be a camcorder because there is evident use of a paddle zoom (i think) in some of his shots. but it seems like too clean of an image for an HMC or HVX.
12 years ago
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eheath
Posts: 61957 - Karma: 126,732
The windells crew uses dslrs (t2i, 60d,7d, etc) and hmc150s.
12 years ago
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[J_Gasper]
Posts: 2983 - Karma: 1,594
Hmm. Alright thanks.
12 years ago
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JuliusJ
Posts: 3778 - Karma: 2,106
because this is the unworthy thread, what is a paddle zoom? i googled and nothing really came up.
12 years ago
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[J_Gasper]
Posts: 2983 - Karma: 1,594
There are other words for it, but basically its the electronic zoom with continous AF that is on most camcorders (not DSLRS). So when you see smooth zooms mid shot, its usually with a "paddle zoom". Level 1 has been a big fan of it in their past movies because they mainly used sony ex1s. You can still zoom mid shot with a DSLR, but its not smooth at all, and chances are your subject will become out of focus one way or another.
12 years ago
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eheath
Posts: 61957 - Karma: 126,732
They may use the newer p2 cameras too I dunno, youd have to ask jake what the crew uses these days, its not just jake its literally like 5 other filmers too. The hmc150 has always looked pretty good though, i wouldnt instantly discount a camera with a paddle zoom.
12 years ago
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Mag
Posts: 8155 - Karma: 14,798
anyone got any suggestions for a 3/4 stop nd filter?
12 years ago
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eheath
Posts: 61957 - Karma: 126,732
I have a 1.2ND hoya filter, 77mm was $99 pretty good deal IMO.
12 years ago
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Mag
Posts: 8155 - Karma: 14,798
much flaring? & does it soften the image noticably? for photos as well as videos,
12 years ago
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Laurent.
Posts: 10056 - Karma: 25,311
General rules of filters:

More expensive the better: less flare, less softening.
Hoya and B+W = good.
The more elaborate the coatings, the higher the price, the better.

Also these glorious typos on Hoya's website: "fitlers"

Click for larger image
12 years ago
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Mag
Posts: 8155 - Karma: 14,798
True, but there's going to be exceptions in most fields.

Think I'll probably grab a Hoya 1.2 nd then,

& as for cpl filters, how does the Marumi stack up to the hoya pro-1 ones? that "ultimate polarizer test" kinda went over my head.
12 years ago
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[J_Gasper]
Posts: 2983 - Karma: 1,594
Yea i knew there is a whole crew, but there was an interview with strassman last year and he was holding a camcorder,so i just assumed it was him in the edits with the paddle zoom. Whatever camera it is, it kicks ass for their needs.
12 years ago
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terraclot
Posts: 438 - Karma: 665
Going to be filming some concerts soon, and I don't own an external mic for the 5dii that I have. Any suggestions on a setup? I mean, sure, any external mic will help out.

But--I ask because--from what I've found, even from filming with a cell phone, if you cover the microphone with a finger, the low frequencies don't overwhelm the mic and allows for better sound quality. Anyone have any advice on something like this for a dlsr setup?
12 years ago
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Laurent.
Posts: 10056 - Karma: 25,311
Get a Zoom H4N, which has a dual recording mode:
Track 1: XLR to the soundboard, to record the raw audio and vocals properly.
Track 2: The dual microphones in 120 mode aimed at stage & a bit of crowd.
12 years ago
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jibcrew1
Posts: 1505 - Karma: 522
does anybody know a good backpack to get that can carry two camera bodys three lenses two mics one light pannel various batterys and filters. Also i had a shipping mix up and have a lightcraft workshop mark ii variable nd filter 77mm for $140 free shipping anywhere in the U.S
12 years ago
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eheath
Posts: 61957 - Karma: 126,732
Fstop
12 years ago
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jibcrew1
Posts: 1505 - Karma: 522
which one its going to need to carry a glidecam and tripod not sure if i included in the original post
12 years ago
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eheath
Posts: 61957 - Karma: 126,732
I use a loka I have my fs100 3 zoom lenses view finder (as big as a 70-200) mic and a huge pocket on top that's usually empty. I strap my tripod and glide cam to the outside
12 years ago
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jibcrew1
Posts: 1505 - Karma: 522
i was looking at that and get the large shallow icu because my second mic is a rode ntg 2 which is quite big and takes up around the same amount of space as the 70-200 i have
12 years ago
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Mag
Posts: 8155 - Karma: 14,798
If you wanna save some money, and delight me, you could grab my large pro ICU.
12 years ago
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jibcrew1
Posts: 1505 - Karma: 522
how much are you selling it for?
12 years ago
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Mag
Posts: 8155 - Karma: 14,798
50$+shipping(10-15$)
12 years ago
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jibcrew1
Posts: 1505 - Karma: 522
pm me about it and we can get it worked out
12 years ago
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homestar
Posts: 2124 - Karma: 4,197
I'm looking for a tripod for shooting video. I'm looking to spend 120-180$. Does anyone have any recommendations? I was looking at these 3 -



12 years ago
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Mag
Posts: 8155 - Karma: 14,798
I've snapped the half inch solid metal handle on a fancier I had before, don't know how but I haven't bought anything of theirs since.
12 years ago
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jibcrew1
Posts: 1505 - Karma: 522
does anyone on here use the mosaic engineering anti aliasing and moire filter for filming skiing considering getting one for my 7d but dont know if its worth the $300 i dont usually come by
12 years ago
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Freebird12
Posts: 114 - Karma: 295
Going to be filming my first shots soon, so when I shiot in maual exposure mode what should I be setting my frame rates shutter speed iso and aperture at? I know it will change but are there any things that should remain constant like shutter speed? I heard one guy say 1/50 for ss but also, how do you have a ss while filming?
12 years ago
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DrZoidberg
Posts: 5676 - Karma: 4,297
Anybody play piano/is knowledgable about keyboards? I'm gonna buy something nicer for myself, and was looking at the yamaha np-31. It's piano focused, velocity sensitive, relatively small for 76 keys, others seem to like it. Weighted keys would be awesome, but they're so expensive and chunky. I don't really do anything other than piano, so this seems nice. Gonna be using it in my dorm a lot, which is small. Pretty set on buying it, unless I can get a great deal on something that's weighted. The dorm has an upright in the common room, but I'm not one for an audience, so I only play when it's empty.

Also I know people know about midi stuff. I don't want to be a dj or anything, just mess around with it. I've never really messed with midi though, you just need the midi to usb thing right? I have garage band, so that would record what I play? And I could control all the goofy synths with the keyboard I suppose. Are there any other free programs or something that are cool?
12 years ago
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steezysteeze
Posts: 1739 - Karma: 1,012
Quick m&a help me out! how much should I offer a guy for an xpro1 with the 18mm f/2 and 35mm f/1.4 with all the original boxes? I was thinking $2000? should I go for more or less?
12 years ago
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