I have the canon but hear good stuff about sigma.

 

I have had really good luck with Sigma. I use them everyday. As many know I am a professional photographer.

 

have 2 sigma lens very good. but it is hit and miss as few of my friends who i had recommended had bought n then returned back.

 

I have it on order! Wont get it until next Wednesday , now the wait. I have the Sigma 10-20 uber wide angle. It seems to be a very nice lens. I have some pictures I took recently. I'll need to see how well I did, and how they turned out.

 

Which camera did you get?

 

The 60d.

 

Excellent choice. I was torn between the 60D and the 7D when i was looking last year. I liked the flip out screen of the 60D.

 

I have two 7ds and love them. The one thing I didn't like about the 60D is the flip screen. To me it was another moving part that could break.

 

in the end the flipper did concern me, especially after seeing the torture test on the 7D. much of my life is ruff n tumble so that won me in the end. i could see myself dropping the 60d being smaller and breaking the flipper.
i'd have both if i could though.

 

I have several cameras from a 5DIII to a XS Rebel, my two favorite models are the 7D and the XS Rebel. One for shooting landscape and one for a carry around.

 

Ben, I haven't set up any custom programs on the 7D. care to share any really cool or handy custom settings?

 

The only custom set ups that I use are for sports. I have one for night football. Aperture 3.5 Shutter 1/320 ISO 2000. I have one for bands or indoor dark events Aperture 2.8 Shutter 1/160 ISO 400

 

031 by benbrengman, on Flickr

 

I think I'll like the Flip screen and on the 70d it has a touchscreen! I'm your typical consumer give me bells and whistles and flashing lights, lol.

 

I usually like the bells and whistles also, except for when it comes to camera equipment, then I am old school. It took me for ever to move to digital and I am a younger (40) professional.

 

here's my last old skool clicker. still have it too From this i graduated to the first Rebel DSLR when it came out. It was a very reluctant transition until i realized how much i was saving on wasted film

 

I must say, beautiful pictures gents. I recently picked up photography and have been soaking up the knowledge from everywhere. I've had a chance to practice some shots, My buddy even asked me to shoot his proposal! So honored...

I still have a lot to learn but dang it's so much fun to see good pictures turn out.

What do y'all think? Shooting with a Nikon D5300. Shots were either taken with a 55-200 f4.6, or 35 1.4.

WoBTour-47 by SLB-Photography, on Flickr

Daytona500-7 by SLB-Photography, on Flickr

Dez-7 by SLB-Photography, on Flickr

Mustang-4 by SLB-Photography, on Flickr

Dez-4 by SLB-Photography, on Flickr

Bingham_Proposal-22 by SLB-Photography, on Flickr

 

Good job, keep it up.

 

Thanks you! Any tips on getting a crisper image from a distance? Such as the thunderbirds (severely cropped cuz they were so far away) and the proposal?

Was it just the capability of my lenses from that far away? Or was it the environment (I.e sunlight to shade capture -- couple was under an awning).

I'm hoping to get in a business like yours as a side business. I love photography and need as much help as I can get.

Thanks for the input Ben!

 

To get pictures from a distance you need stability. A little shake may not show up in a close image but it will in a long distance image. When I shoot football I use a monopod even during the day. Many lenses have IS (image stabilization) built in. This will help but you may still need a stable camera with longer distances.

As for lighting, use fill flash, even during the day. Remember photography is basically the capture of light. For even better results or the most part, it's the location of the light that is most important. By getting your flash off-camera, your images become more three-dimensional, more textural and more professional looking. The big difference in professional images and others is the professionals know how to use off camera lighting.