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New member needs help

lurechunker
Enthusiast

I am new to the forum and asking for help. Our granddaughter plays basketball and I would like to photograph her. I kayak and would like to photograph birds. Is the EOS 760D the camera for me? Other? What lens or lenses? How can I protect my equipment form damage from saltwater? Thank you.

2 ACCEPTED SOLUTIONS


@lurechunker wrote:
My 80D with 18-55 from Canon store will arrive tomorrow. I think I made a mistake by not getting the 28-135. Should I leave the 18-55 in the box and send it back? I'd like to start with an "all-round" lens and one long enough for back yard birds.

Do you mean 18-135, instead of 28-135?  The 18-135 lenses are pretty good.  BUT, they will likely cast a shadow when you try to use the flash.  I know that older 18-135mm lenses cast a major shadow on a T5, so I would expect a shadow on an 80D.  The 18-55mm lens has a 35mm equivalent of 29-88mm, which is pretty close to 24-70mm that is very popular for use with full frame camera bodies.

 

The  STM version of the 18-55mm is a really good lens.  I would hang on to it.  I can guarantee you that whatever plans you have for using the camera, you will find new scenarios to use it.  I would keep the 18-55mm, and pass on buying a 18-135, so that you can budget more money towards your birding lens.  If you can afford to do all of the above, then by all means, buy all of the lenses you want.

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"The right mouse button is your friend."

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@lurechunker wrote:

What about buying a used or refurbished lens from B&H?


I am not sure if I have seen any Canon refurbished gear at B&H, not in the last few years for sure.  If you want to buy Canon refurbished gear, then I would only recommend the Canon refurbished store.  They will give you a one year warranty, not just a  "guarantee" of some kind.  

 

I think B&H has a fairly good and objective rating system for their used gear.  I think much of it is a bit pricey, though.  Many times they will offer used gear that is rated "good" that has an asking price that is more than what is being offered in the Canon Refurbished Store.  

 

Check what the B&H guarantee and return policy might be for used gear.  I've bought a used tripod head and a "hi-hat" tripod from B&H, and I think I had a 15 day return window, and a 30 day guarantee.

 

Good judgement needs to exercised when buying used gear.  You must consider the source.  You must consider the return policy, for which B&H has a good reputation.  You must consider the cost/benefit of expensive gear without a warranty.  You must consider can the used gear be repaired, if needed in the near future.  

 

With used camera gear, there is always a risk of mold and mildew contamination.  Canon's refurbished gear has that new gear smell to it, so I think the contamination risk is small to non-existent with Canon.

 

[EDIT]. If what you want is out of stock at the Canon Refurbished Store, be patient.  Most of the items will be back in stock in a month, or two, or three.  The "L" series lenses can sell out very quickly.  

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"The right mouse button is your friend."

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314 REPLIES 314

Are there any free editing applications that I could start with? I'd like to "enhance" and keep track of some photographs. Thanks.


@lurechunker wrote:

Are there any free editing applications that I could start with? I'd like to "enhance" and keep track of some photographs. Thanks.


I suppose that depends upon what you have in mind when it comes to "photo editing."  Image editing, or RAW conversions?

There are a few free, high quality image editors out there.  Two that come to mind are GIMP and PaintDotNet.  If you are not familiar with image editing, then PDN is a good place to start.  It was originally released as an upgrade over MS Paint.  You can perform layer masking with it, but no RAW conversions.  It knows nothing about photos, though.

I dabbled with GIMP for a couple of weeks.  It is as close to "free" Photoshop that I have seen.  I do not recall whether or not it can handle RAW files, but I seem to remember that it did.  I do not know how "up to date" their RAW conversions are.  I do not think it can do lens correction, which may have been why I stopped using it.

Canon's DPP 3/4 software can do a pretty good job on RAW conversions.  You can make the typical adjustments that people want to make to a photo.  People complain about the speed of DPP4, but I feel the sluggish behavior is due to the hardware.  If you use DPP4, then you may know what I mean.  It needs a separate video graphics card to run well.

Adobe Lightroom 6 isn't free, isn't cheap, but I highly recommend it.  Not only does it help you organize photos, it does a really good job RAW conversions.  It's quick.  Unlike DPP, LR6 can d lens correction on third party lenses.  If you feel creative, you can also create your own lens correction files.

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"The right mouse button is your friend."

Mayday!! My refurbished 80D has stopped working. I noticed it Wednesday and thought it was a dead battery. I charged the battery and still no joy. The shutter does not function in A or M. It is under warranty but I hate to do without it for a day let alone WEEKS. Suggestions?


@lurechunker wrote:

Mayday!! My refurbished 80D has stopped working. I noticed it Wednesday and thought it was a dead battery. I charged the battery and still no joy. The shutter does not function in A or M. It is under warranty but I hate to do without it for a day let alone WEEKS. Suggestions?


Contact Canon support during business hours.  Turn around is typically 10-14 days.  You can run into delays during holidays seasons, when workers take holidays and vacations.  

Make sure the camera is not in "Movie Mode".  If it were, it would seem to automatically go into Live View, and refuse to take a picture when you press the shutter.  

Do all of the usual stuff like removing the lens, and powering up.  Trying a different lens or a different SD card.  Resetting the camera to factory defaults.

 Check your exposure settings, too.  I once had that happen to me.  Somehow, by shutter was 1/4000 and f/stop was at f/32.  I looked in the viewfinder, and something was flashing, too, trying to alert me to the bad settings.

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"The right mouse button is your friend."

What is, or isn't happening?  Shutter doesn't fire. Turns on. Mode changes. 

 

Do do shutter speed and aperture show on LCD?

 

Can you change settings?

 

Did you remove and reseat lens. 

 

Is lens in AF mode?

 

Do you get focus confirmation?

John Hoffman
Conway, NH

1D X Mark III, Many lenses, Pixma PRO-100, Pixma TR8620a, LR Classic

I took the 100-400 off and put on the 18-55 and it seemed to be normal. Looked at 100-400 and it was in 3m-infenity mode. Moved it to "full" and seems to be okay again. Will check the images and let you know.

Images seem normal now. Why would the 3M mode on the 100-400 L ll make a difference?

3M to Infinity means lens will only look to focus on an object in that distance range. If you were trying to focus on an object closer than 3M lens won't focus and if camera can't achieve focus shutter won't actuate. 

John Hoffman
Conway, NH

1D X Mark III, Many lenses, Pixma PRO-100, Pixma TR8620a, LR Classic

The 3M to Infinity mode is probably what you'll be using for action shots when subjects are more than 10 feet away.

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"The right mouse button is your friend."

"Are there any free editing applications that I could start with?"

 

Yes but none are Photoshop!  Most are not even Lightroom. But some come close to it as LR is a much lesser editor.  Darktable is one.  Affinity is a very good reasonabley priced editor.

Gimp is as close as you can get to PS.  It is not PS, however.  If you want it to be more like PS you need to get the add on Gimpshop.  It adds the GUI interface to Gimp.  Gimp does raw an does it well.  To me it is a far more difficult program to learn but, hey, it's free.

 

DPP from Canon is free and is almost LR.  Use it.  Smiley Happy

EB
EOS 1DX and 1D Mk IV and less lenses then before!
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