i thnk that will be the lens a mate of mine has, ive had it on my 450d a cuple of times and loved it, i love the uwa effect, if only i could afford one i would get a 8.5mm fisheye with a 180degree field of view

The best rectilinear ultra-wide angle out there right now is the Tokina 12-24mm, but the extra 2mm on the Sigma is nice to have.

i know it's not the same standard, but does anyone have anything to say about the Olympus Tough 6000/8000? i'm thinking about one of them for my birthday. thanks

The Sigma 10-20mm is great. For me it was a little bit odd to use a Lens this wide at first, but after a few days of practise it is really great fun.

I just bought a Infrared Filter today. Attached is a quick test Shot.

Quote from Highsider9 :

The Sigma 10-20mm is great. For me it was a little bit odd to use a Lens this wide at first, but after a few days of practise it is really great fun.

I just bought a Infrared Filter today. Attached is a quick test Shot.

Rawr! I adore IR photography! Especially the difference it makes in cloudscapes and foliage.

Been trying some IR's with a DIY filter, made from duct tape and old unexposed film :P

Went out at 3 in the morning to take some pictures of the sunrise

Quote from DeadWolfBones :

Don't pay any mind to what Ken Rockwell says, Sam.

I must admit I have a lot of respect for Ken's opinion. I've generally agreed with his observations in the past, when he's examined the kit I've owned - even if I was initially reluctant to take his comments on board. Plus he gets extra kudos for his scathing review of the Nikon D3x. He really tore a strip off Nikon for that camera, its feature-set and its price point and he was absolutely right. I've read his review of the lens I've bought and he's given me some good pointers.

Quote from oli17 :

i know it's not the same standard, but does anyone have anything to say about the Olympus Tough 6000/8000? i'm thinking about one of them for my birthday. thanks

I never heard of this camera before, so I went to look it up. It sounds excellent as an all-purpose camera. Good features and the images it turns out look excellent, with very good colours indeed.

Point-and-shoot cameras are a million times better for capturing the moment in social groups than DSLR cameras. They're inconspicuous and you can avoid the awful "heads together, say cheese" snapshot scenario that you get when you pull out a big camera. Not to mention, you don't look like a complete knob with a point-and-shoot. It sounds like it'll take quite a beating and the underwater feature is wicked. If I had extra cash, I think I'd go for this camera to stick in my pocket. Glad you mentioned it, Oli

Great shots, Migz. Looks like you have the same problem as I have, getting the camera level

I've been getting up at silly hours to get photos too!

Quote from SamH :

Great shots, Migz. Looks like you have the same problem as I have, getting the camera level

I've been getting up at silly hours to get photos too!

Well its not really a problem for me, i just cant be bothered to sort it haha. i have a tripod with a spirit level thing on it.
A bunch of the photos were taken on the beach with the tide rising extremely quickly, so i couldnt stop to extend the tripods legs to make it level, so i just had to take the pictures and move again.
Then another bunch were taken sitting ontop of a bunker, which was rather level.
But thank you
And yeah getting up at silly hours is for only the cool people

Quote from SamH :

I never heard of this camera before, so I went to look it up. It sounds excellent as an all-purpose camera. Good features and the images it turns out look excellent, with very good colours indeed.

Point-and-shoot cameras are a million times better for capturing the moment in social groups than DSLR cameras. They're inconspicuous and you can avoid the awful "heads together, say cheese" snapshot scenario that you get when you pull out a big camera. Not to mention, you don't look like a complete knob with a point-and-shoot. It sounds like it'll take quite a beating and the underwater feature is wicked. If I had extra cash, I think I'd go for this camera to stick in my pocket. Glad you mentioned it, Oli

thanks, i'm still debating which one though (6000 or 8000). do you think the 6000 looks ok? (i don't have the nerve to ask for the 8000 tbh)

Sunrise at 3am?? what the hell... how can you sleep?

Anyways, awesome shots!

Quote from Blas89 :

Sunrise at 3am?? what the hell... how can you sleep?

Anyways, awesome shots!

It wasnt at 3, i just had to leave at 3.
I left at 3 and walked one way, after arriving at one place i realised i couldnt see the sun rising from where i was, so i had to walk the opposite way back past my house. The sun first appeared around 4:30.

Quote from SamH :

I must admit I have a lot of respect for Ken's opinion. I've generally agreed with his observations in the past, when he's examined the kit I've owned - even if I was initially reluctant to take his comments on board. Plus he gets extra kudos for his scathing review of the Nikon D3x. He really tore a strip off Nikon for that camera, its feature-set and its price point and he was absolutely right. I've read his review of the lens I've bought and he's given me some good pointers.

I guess everyone's got a different opinion on him.

Most of them are represented here: http://www.dpchallenge.com/for ... READ_ID=334007&page=1

Quote from oli17 :

thanks, i'm still debating which one though (6000 or 8000). do you think the 6000 looks ok? (i don't have the nerve to ask for the 8000 tbh)

It looks like the 6000 should be good enough, honestly. It has a 10mpix sensor compared with the 8000's 12mpix, but unless you're going to be blowing images up to wall poster size you won't notice any difference - certainly not if you're only going to facebook or flickr your pics to share with others. The 6000 has some extra goodies in face detection over the 8000. So it really comes down to the ability to swim to 10ft, which is as deep as I would usually go, or 25ft which is definitely beyond swimming pool depths and will make your ears hurt a LOT. And you can drop the 8000 from 2 metres compared with 1.5 metres with the 6000. My recommendation is to avoid dropping your camera at all

Go with the 6000. It's not going to let you down, and probably will surprise you

Quote from Blackout :

I'm sure it will be ace. If I had been smarter I had bought something like that with a body and not the kit. How much did that thing set you back then?

Talking of which. Now when the US dollar is rightfully in the ditch again, is there any place that would ship Nikon lenses from US to Europe? Looking at the amazon list prices on the Nikon 55-200 VR AF-S DX lens, you'd save about 150 euros, and that's a lot in my books. But the problem is they don't ship that outside US. Is there some sort of areal distribution monopoly with camera gear, or does anyone know a place?

KEH.Com will,they have a sweet selection of used and like new stuff. Though they won't (because of Canon and Nikon) Ship new Canon or Nikon stuff.

I buy most of my gear from them.

Also, a couple random shots from last week, fomapan b&w 400iso.

Quote from SamH :

It looks like the 6000 should be good enough, honestly. It has a 10mpix sensor compared with the 8000's 12mpix, but unless you're going to be blowing images up to wall poster size you won't notice any difference - certainly not if you're only going to facebook or flickr your pics to share with others. The 6000 has some extra goodies in face detection over the 8000. So it really comes down to the ability to swim to 10ft, which is as deep as I would usually go, or 25ft which is definitely beyond swimming pool depths and will make your ears hurt a LOT. And you can drop the 8000 from 2 metres compared with 1.5 metres with the 6000. My recommendation is to avoid dropping your camera at all

Go with the 6000. It's not going to let you down, and probably will surprise you

thanks it's nice to finally be part of a thread that hasn't caught fire yet! as i always find whenever doing research for anything (usually for a birthday/christmas present), you end up getting put off really easily, e.g. from bad reviews on amazon. it happened when i was looking for a wheel (got DFP in the end), console (got PS3 in the end) and now this. i think you just have to say screw the reviews, as long as they're mostly good, they'll be fine.

anyway, i put both on my birthday list, which i've emailed to my mum and at the bottom it says "bear in mind that i love you xxx", so we'll see how it goes, maybe i'll post a short review on here if anyone's interested.

Quote from Blas89 :

Sunrise at 3am?? what the hell... how can you sleep?

Tomorrow morning the sun rises (on this height I live), at 3.19 (sets 22.47) and technically there is no night. At 19th (Midsummer) of this month the sun gets up at the most earliest at 3.14 and after that days get shorter and shorter when it gets up later every day. Further up north the sun just stays up and doesn't set.

Quote from SamH :

A few Ebayers are shipping from the US at the moment. There's no embargoes or anything to prevent them, AFAIK. New York has always been the main focus of photography equipment in the US, for some reason I've no real idea why. Start off at Adorama (http://www.adorama.com/) and work out from there, I reckon.

Thanks, looks promising, especially the refurbished lenses are tempting...must resist.

Quote from MattxMosh :

KEH.Com will,they have a sweet selection of used and like new stuff. Though they won't (because of Canon and Nikon) Ship new Canon or Nikon stuff.

Interesting stuff too, thanks.

Quote from oli17 :

thanks it's nice to finally be part of a thread that hasn't caught fire yet!

Tell it like it is! Deep down inside, there really is a community here that cares about each other. You just have to dig a bit to find that out, sometimes

Quote from oli17 :

maybe i'll post a short review on here if anyone's interested.

Bring it on! I'm a big fan of consumer reviews based on first-hand experience. I'm also going to be looking for a camera to stick in my pocket and use around friends etc - my DSLR sucks for that, as I mentioned before. I think a decent point-and-shoot is one of the best add-ons you can get for a DSLR.

Quote from SamH :

Tell it like it is! Deep down inside, there really is a community here that cares about each other. You just have to dig a bit to find that out, sometimes

Very very true this
We are such a caring community that if SamH was about to be killed, i would run all the way there and save him myself.
Just like if i was about to be killed, im sure somebody else would run all the way here and save me.... i hope

Quote from Migz :

if i was about to be killed, im sure somebody else would run all the way here and save me.... i hope

I'll be there mate! And not necessarily because I'm the one about to kill you, either!

right i'm off to do some last minute physics revision - exam's at 1:30, wish me luck! (after this, only one to go!!!)

Enough with this feel good nonsense!
Here is a loud Ford Escort to balance things out a bit.

Quote from oli17 :

right i'm off to do some last minute physics revision - exam's at 1:30, wish me luck! (after this, only one to go!!!)

lol just been to do tht same exam, i am no official out of compulsery education. so untill i geand aprntihip or college starts im free so hopefully will have time to get creative witht he camera

Quote from Blackout :

Enough with this feel good nonsense!
Here is a loud Ford Escort to balance things out a bit.

Needs moar vignetting.

very good photos by all. wish i could see the sunrise from here but Hampshire valleys are still very pretty bathed in light. shall take some proper photos next camping trip.

I will probably be buying the pentax K100d in the next few months and am very excited!


Some more random shots from past week.