A Camera to Call my Own

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deltoidjohn

Veteran
After a year of borrowing friends DSLR's to test them out, I think I'm finally ready to make the jump myself and seriously invest in a DSLR kit. I shoot weddings, and would love to go all DSLR but until now there have been too many issues. I've owned a D90 and a GH1 but neither fully served my needs. With the Magic Lantern moving fowrard in leaps and bounds, I've finally decided I want to give DSLR's a shot.

I started looking around for glass and ordered a Tamron 70-200 f/2.8 (I knew this would probably be my most expensive lens so wanted to get it first so I could work out the rest of my budget). It arrived in the post today so I jumped straight online and ordered a 550d.

My Pentax gear is on eBay at the moment and when that sells the money will go towards a Tamron 17-50 f/2.8. Next will be a Tokina 11-16.

I'm looking forward to posting some all-DSLR videos here soon - maybe a few short surf clips to start off with and then a wedding soon after that!
 
You'll be wanting that wide Tamron... the small sensor equivalent for the big zoom starts you at over 100mm!

(My guess is that sucker won't even see much action on your DSLR for video, though a 70-200 2.8 is a wicked still lens. Just hard to deal with for video, I have used an 80-200 2.8 on my T2i and D90, and while it looked luscious, it's a bear to deal with. I tend to shoot 90% of my DSLR stuff with three primes - 28mm 2.8, 50mm 1.8, and 100mm 2.8. For really wide stuff I have a really wide zoom, and my next DSLR gig I'll be experimenting with a classic Nikkor 35-70 2.8AF, sweet lens...)

T2i is capable of some badass work.
 
I shoot lots of surfing, so the 70-200 will be spending plenty of time on my camera.... espescially once I get a 2x convertor.

I shot mainly with primes on the GH1 - a 50mm for specialty shots and then a 200mm for surfing action (it wasn't long enough for that purpose but when I added a 2x convertor is started to get worryingly heavy and I though the mount would snap off!)
 
Instead of grabbing a 2x converter which lowers light significantly, I would suggest possibly going with the t3i. It has a 3x-10x no resolution loss digital crop with nice results.
 
In bright sunlight while shooting surfing, 2 stops of light loss is not a problem at all. I'll be stopping down to at least f/8-f/11 anyway and adding ND's. The 3x crop on the other hand, might magnify any CA which tends to become more apperent with high-contrast scenes - such as waves breaking under the midday sun.

Plus a teleconverter is $170, and a 600D is about $1000 in Aus. Also the 600D won't let me use Magic Lantern.
 
Well the 550D arrived this week along with the Tamron 70-200mm.

I had my heart set on the Tokina 11-16 but for budgeting reasons I was going to go for the Tokina 12-24 instead. Then all of a sudden a Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5 popped up locally and I snatched it up on impulse.

I'll use it to shoot a little b-roll at a wedding this weekend, and next week if the rain and wind stop I'll try to shoot some surfing too.
 
deltoidjohn said:
Well the 550D arrived this week along with the Tamron 70-200mm.

I had my heart set on the Tokina 11-16 but for budgeting reasons I was going to go for the Tokina 12-24 instead. Then all of a sudden a Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5 popped up locally and I snatched it up on impulse.

I'll use it to shoot a little b-roll at a wedding this weekend, and next week if the rain and wind stop I'll try to shoot some surfing too.
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Please, please, please post some surfing footage! I am curious about the range of 200mm in surf, and seeing footage from somewhere I have shot before will give me a better idea of exactly how far I will need to reach for some of the stuff I shoot. Man I miss the Gold coast, so beautiful there...
 
I can already make a few comments as I'm used to shooting stills with a Pentax DSLR. 200mm is not even close to what you need. You'll at least want 400mm of reach. Depending on your priorities, you might want to go with something like the Canon 100-400mm. Personally I needed a fast telezoom to use at weddings as well, so I got the Tamron 70-200 f/2.8 and will add a 2x teleconverter.

Where have you shot on the Gold Coast? I will be able to tell you what sort of focal lengths I would use at most of the locations around here.
 
deltoidjohn said:
I can already make a few comments as I'm used to shooting stills with a Pentax DSLR. 200mm is not even close to what you need. You'll at least want 400mm of reach. Depending on your priorities, you might want to go with something like the Canon 100-400mm. Personally I needed a fast telezoom to use at weddings as well, so I got the Tamron 70-200 f/2.8 and will add a 2x teleconverter.

Where have you shot on the Gold Coast? I will be able to tell you what sort of focal lengths I would use at most of the locations around here.
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Mainly south Straddie island, um Phillips park I think its called, and around Main beach... I was pretty sure I was gonna need at least 400 but its nice to hear someone echo that. I have a good friend in France that shoots a 7D with a Canon 600mm and he gets some amazing stuff, but I can't afford the cheese to get the 600mm right now...
 
If you're talking about South Straddie, near the Southport Spit, then a 70-200mm will get you by just fine. The waves there break just metres from the beach even when it's pretty solid (Getting your camera gear over there is another story though). This would actuallly be very similar to a lot of beachies in France at high tide - thumping shorebreak barrels just a stones throw from the beach.

North Straddie however, is a different story. a 400mm will barely get you by shooting at Main Beach or Cyclinders. Even then you'll struggle to fill the frame for really tight action shots.
 
deltoidjohn said:
If you're talking about South Straddie, near the Southport Spit, then a 70-200mm will get you by just fine. The waves there break just metres from the beach even when it's pretty solid (Getting your camera gear over there is another story though). This would actuallly be very similar to a lot of beachies in France at high tide - thumping shorebreak barrels just a stones throw from the beach.

North Straddie however, is a different story. a 400mm will barely get you by shooting at Main Beach or Cyclinders. Even then you'll struggle to fill the frame for really tight action shots.
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Yeah, that's exactly where I'm talking about on SS... and yes, getting an HVX kit there and back was pretty nerve-racking! I had a French friend of a friend who spoke 0% English (and I speak horrible French) driving me back to the boat ramps on a jet ski trying to run wide open... good times lol
 
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