FST513

Nice rig shot Ian! Always liked your work.

Hey Guys, I know its EXTREMELY late, pretty much a month later, but HPI decided not to run the story of this trackday Unfortunately, the editor didn't think it would be relevant for the issue it was going to be released in Things happen, but i really wanted this to be published, i pushed it pretty hard, sorry guys! Heres my blog article with a little story and photos of the day. http://www.koryleungphotography.com.au/blog/ For everyone who emailed me regarding photos, they are all up there now!

Oh by the way - In my post #166. I meant the 17-55 (typo). And i was referring to the Canon 50 1.4 having bad CA when shooting close to wide open. Sorry if that confuses anyone.

Hahahaha thanks mate. Mostly my "Read info" is from POTN (Photography on the net). Yes its a canon based forum, but there are millions of users, it has so much information its not funny, find what you want, read other peoples experiences etc etc... There are specific sub forums for lenses or for types of photography e.g. landscape/motorsport/automotive/wedding/portraits etc. Theres always so much to learn. I am continually learning everyday about cameras/lenses/new things coming out. I'm subscribed to a lot of RSS feeds from photographers and people and i like to read there experiences and try it out for myself. I also am really good friends with my local camera store employees, so i often go down and ask if i can have a play with a lens or body and take some shots and see how i like it. Remember you will only learn if your willing too and you WANT too! Hope that helped you out

Matt you mega retard, i wrote all that for no reason lol. Have a look at the 17-65 2.8IS. Might be out of your budget though. If your using a Nifty, i highly recommend upgrading to the Sigma 50/1.4 or the Sigma 30/1.4. I haven't had good experiences with the Canon, i think it suffers from bad CA. Although i could of just got a lemon copy. If your shooting low light, it might be better for you to sell the 450D, upgrade to something like a 7D or 5DII with the extra funds and hold onto the Nifty for a bit longer. Just a thought. If your using DCW i am assuming you want Australian warranty? IF so, Digi direct is in the city and will ship to you, they package very good, otherwise cameras direct (They are grey imports, but reasonable cheap and awesome customer service).

Love colours like this. They work so good with flash! And Silver. Your a lucky man to have photographed both colours haha. Nice shots man. Keep at it.

Personally i would use photoshop, but thats just me.

What do you mean Photoshop won't batch resize?! 1. If your photos are portrait orientated AND landscape orientated, seperate them so that one or the other doesn't get enlarged. 2. Create an action in photoshop to resize to XXXXXXXX size. 3. File --> Automate --> Batch 4. Run the batch with the resizing action. 5. Laugh. As regards to sharpening, LR only uses ACR's engine to sharpen. Its really mainly only for capture sharpening. There is also on LR3 the option to enable capture sharpening, plus sharpen when in the "Develop" tab, and then an option when you export for "output sharpening". I normally use PS to sharpen if need be with either smart sharpen or using a High pass. To do a high pass, duplicate layer --> Filter --> Other --> high pass. It will be a grey box. Turn the radius down/up so that you can just see the outlines of your image (it will look for edges i've found) so maybe around 2.0 or something. depends on your photo. Press ok. Change blend mode to overlay/soft light/hard light.

Nice shots mate, looks like your getting HDR down pat! It's all HDR (High Dynamic Range). Basically you can take one RAW photo and create a single HDR by adjusting it +/- 1 or 2 stops and then stack them. OR Take bracketed shots (3-9 shots at different exposures all a stop apart) and then combine them in photoshop or Photomatix or any HDR compatible program. Plenty of info out on the web about it

Yep Either way, you better be there!

I'm kind of hoping it rains to see more skids and test out the home made plastic bag camera cover gear

True that Shoulda kept my 50D but didn't want to wait an extra 3 weeks to get the 7D haha.

If you shoot weddings with only one body, you'll be regretting that one day when your 450D gives up on you either with an error message or just shuts itself off. Main priority for wedding photographers is 2 bodies, both with different lenses. If you can afford it, look at a fast prime like a 50 1.2/35 1.4, otherwise a Canon 50/1.4 and a Sigma 30 1.4. Great for those wide shots in churches/receptions etc... You can get a 17-40L for around $1000, or save up for a 70-200 2.8IS MKI or MKII. But judging by your reply about lenses, your on a much cheaper budget than that, so i think you should look into the 17-55 2.8 IS, its around $1400 now i think and this will pee all over the 15-85 or the 17-85 optically. If you give me a budget i'm sure we can all work something out for you. Look for something with a constant aperture that doesnt change through the focal length range. Obviously the ultimate kit is two 5DII's and 24-70 and a 70-200 which is all you would need. But not everyone is as rich or as sponsored as pro's and unless you plan on taking it full time (unless you already are, i dont recommend this option lol).

hhmmmm thats fair enough. Although i do disagree on the menu options, but then again, i haven't actually sat down and had a play through the menu for a long time. And i was using a D40 so that probably didn't help with features haha. It's the same with Canon though. You can assign buttons to what you want them to do e.g. my AF & Metering start is the AF-ON button because i don't like half pressing the shutter. I like to know its locked. I just find Canons big scroll wheel and shutter wheel and quick navigations menu to be a lot easier to function. I guess one day i will get a look at a D3 or D700 or something in the pro range and have a browse through. I'll stick with Canon though either way

w00t!! I just don't like the feel of Nikon or the operations of it and the menus. I don't have anything against them, but for my needs and how i feel about it, Canon reigns supreme in my world. I've had a Canon 350D/400D/450D/40D/50D and now a 7D and i don't think i'll be changing anytime soon if ever because i've invested way too much in glass. Sitting at $10K investments plus lighting gear etc... It all adds up to a hefty sum. CANON POWAH!! I know Matt, Zennon and a few others shoot Nikon, maybe they can discuss why they chose Nikon? P.S. Sidd shoots Canon as well. And Sl!m i think.

Meh, its a Nikon Hahaha. Go Canon! Although i'm outnumbered on this forum. We compared them both, his 70-200 2.8 VRII and my 70-200 2.8 IS and they were remarkably similar. But the hood design on the Nikon is SO STUPID!

BNR - Thats fair enough. I understand that shooting conditions may of been harsh, but you could bracket into a non HDR over the top effect if you know what i mean? It just seems like everyone uses HDR in the wrong way. You can always move your feet or shoot at a different time, but sometimes, this doesn't permit and you get what you can get Testing out ISO 5000 on the 7D. Still retains detail remarkably well. Thoroughly impressed. Sh!ts all over my old 50D and the AF is pure pr0n.

I must say i'm not a fan of HDR photos of cars. They just bring out way too much detail and ruins it for me, but that's just my personal opinion. If it's done nicely and not over-done it's ok, but most just pull too much detail out of the reflections in the paint. But i like the composition One from me -

Nice pics matt. I wish i was drunk. You have your own site why don't you host them yourselfs? Picasa could be compressing them, never know. On a side note, if anyone here owns a Canon 40D or 50D, view my thread HERE if you want some awesome batteries!

Hey Guys, I have 2 SterlingTek batteries for a Canon 50D that i bought about 3 months ago that come with a Car cigarette lighter charger as well. Cost me $80 shipped here. If you haven't heard about SterlingTek, then you should! They do third party batteries for practically any camera (Besides the 5DII and 7D as they are working on this for the new battery technology). Rated at 2000mAh they are more powerful and last longer than genuine Canon batteries. I've used these and i can honestly say they last a long time! For more info visit www.sterlingtek.com Looking for $50 for the lot +$5 postage. Features: 2 Pack high 2000 mAh capacity Lithium Ion Canon BP-511A batteries Batteries are made from #1 Japanese Cells Batteries are 100% memory free Smart Worldwide (110V & 220V) Charger can be used in the car or in an AC plug Precision end-of-charge voltage detection guarantees full charging of battery. Charger is small with fold away plug design and can easily fit in a camera bag Charging time for most batteries is under 90 minutes.

Nice photos Matt. The photos look distorted to me in IE and firefox. Could be my cr@ppy computer at work. How are you resizing them and where are you hosting them? This could be the reason why they are so soft.

Depends what size and what model you want Matt. It can range in IPS monitors all the way from $400-$5000.

Invest in a Dell IPS monitor and calibration software like Spyder 3 or Eye-One or Color Munki. All good devices and give you accurate colour day in day out. I use a Dell IPS monitor as well as a second screen for browsing the web and spyder 3 software on both. Well worth it!

Good to see an event like this. We need more Drifting in NSW and especially Sydney! And good to see that Corey (Juiced Photography) will be covering it for photos, great 'tog! And Great name

No worries matt. It's pretty cheap to get a lightstand a brolly as well as a flash bracket from image melbourne. Pretty sure you can get kits as well now. Around $100 or cheaper. Nice Barra! I'm guessing the flash was camera right as you can see how the light falls off. Good exposure too, maybe a touch brighter but great job!