[StarRockerX]

Dave. Please don't make me write your name in my deathnote xD

[Dave_the_Vagrant]

Please do...
i've been looking for an easy way out. ^^

and plus, i'll still have your soul

[gadgets]

Scott, on Apr 8 2010, 08:42 AM, said:

On the official gathering spreadsheet it has:
Garden, Tree Patch, Loading Docks Left, Loading Docks Right, East Outdoor Wall, Dome, East Indoor Wall.

Which one is the new fountain in? I don't know where anything is at this point.

I don't know if we would be taking photos of each other at the meetup part, but rather talking a bit before checking out some photography subjects.

the fountain is in front of the convention main doors it is a nice area for photos because lights change colors

[StarRockerX]

Dave_the_Vagrant, on Apr 8 2010, 01:46 PM, said:

Please do...
i've been looking for an easy way out. ^^

and plus, i'll still have your soul

Hey no talking like that David! :'O

<3 :3 the only death we will experience is of the movie orginal industry.

[aerialist]

@Dave : yea, i've done personal shoots before. quite fun if you ask me =D

and @Star, I'll ninja your soul with a flash.

[StarRockerX]

@aerial.

I will counter with my nikon SB900 or whatever flash :3

Booya!

[Dave_the_Vagrant]

@aerial
You have any of the pictures up anywhere so I can take a look at them? i'm interested. :]

[tfcreate]

Since we're drifting off topic I suggest that a site be chosen before the mods close the threads.
When there are no panels that I want to attend, I either hang out near the garden or at the fountain in front.
Wherever you guys decide I'll try to make it. If not, we're almost sure to run into each other at the con.
TFC

[StarRockerX]

tfcreate, on Apr 9 2010, 07:55 PM, said:

Since we're drifting off topic I suggest that a site be chosen before the mods close the threads.
When there are no panels that I want to attend, I either hang out near the garden or at the fountain in front.
Wherever you guys decide I'll try to make it. If not, we're almost sure to run into each other at the con.
TFC

Yes. Outside somewhere would be the best option.
Indoors don't give that much fattering light.
And the gatherings take place outside.

I won't know which panels i'll be at yet since the list isn't posted.
Im plotting which gatherings i might want to check out.

I'll be there early on all days though!! ~

[Dave_the_Vagrant]

StarRockerX, on Apr 10 2010, 09:08 AM, said:

Yes. Outside somewhere would be the best option.
Indoors don't give that much fattering light.
And the gatherings take place outside.

Well, I dont know why someone would want "fattering" light..

but!
I will be everywhere and anywhere I can be. :]
I plan on being at ACEN every day, all day.
I'm gonna be taking a ridiculous amount of pictures every day...
But i'm more than willing to meet up with whoever, where ever.

[Scott]

Probably the best course of action is to decide on a time and place for all three days. It can still be informal, but something like we should wait around at the meeting spot for 15 minutes minimum to catch any stragglers.

We can do this once the panel listing is available. Does anyone know when that happens? We are getting close to a month away now...

If we don't have at least one set time and place, chances are low that anything will happen. Most people probably don't check the forum while the convention is happening. I personally have a phone with internet, but it's far from ideal when reading and writing text on websites.

At least for me, I will have a written list of things I plan on doing.

[tfcreate]

No matter what happens, don't forget to let the cosplayers know where they can find their pictures!
Carry cards, a note pad, a post-it, anything to write the URL on.
TFC

[StarRockerX]

Dave_the_Vagrant, on Apr 10 2010, 11:23 AM, said:

Well, I dont know why someone would want "fattering" light..

but!
I will be everywhere and anywhere I can be. :]
I plan on being at ACEN every day, all day.
I'm gonna be taking a ridiculous amount of pictures every day...
But i'm more than willing to meet up with whoever, where ever.

You still wanna meet up with little old me right?
Yes flattering. Its hard typing on a phone.
Laptop on the frtiz.
I already highlighted which cosplay gatherings I wanna go to.

Scott, on Apr 10 2010, 02:39 PM, said:

Probably the best course of action is to decide on a time and place for all three days. It can still be informal, but something like we should wait around at the meeting spot for 15 minutes minimum to catch any stragglers.

We can do this once the panel listing is available. Does anyone know when that happens? We are getting close to a month away now...

If we don't have at least one set time and place, chances are low that anything will happen. Most people probably don't check the forum while the convention is happening. I personally have a phone with internet, but it's far from ideal when reading and writing text on websites.

At least for me, I will have a written list of things I plan on doing.

Yes. Right now my fate rests with the panels. Lol. Last year I didn't find a list till like 5 days before. LOL xD

And of course I need some shopping time the first day.
A lot of good stuff can sell out.
I'll be checking the forums.
We should try to come up with a time and place Tuesday or Wednesday before the con.
That gives time for people to check the forums.

tfcreate, on Apr 10 2010, 11:16 PM, said:

No matter what happens, don't forget to let the cosplayers know where they can find their pictures!
Carry cards, a note pad, a post-it, anything to write the URL on.
TFC

Of course. I wish to have bussiness cards. But I'll probally use my tarepanda or my star rocker notepad.

:3 convient I know.

[StarRockerX]

Just letting people know I'm also going to c2e2.
So I'll be there super early on Friday and Sunday.
Saturday is still undetermined

[tfcreate]

StarRockerX, on Apr 14 2010, 01:54 PM, said:

Just letting people know I'm also going to c2e2.
So I'll be there super early on Friday and Sunday.
Saturday is still undetermined

Same here all 3 days. I have no shoots scheduled, so I'll just be wandering.
TFC

[Seph]

sure.. if you guys want to meet up just to meet up.. if i can.. ill go..

as to my gear? um.. i dont know... lots?

[Scott]

Seph, on Apr 19 2010, 09:18 AM, said:

sure.. if you guys want to meet up just to meet up.. if i can.. ill go..

as to my gear? um.. i dont know... lots?

Sounds good.

Gear wise, what's your favorite setup when wandering the convention and taking photos of cosplayers? (assuming you have time to do that).

I'm tempted to use a 10-17mm as it's so fun to use, but I might go with a 24-60mm f2.8 at times because the wide lens only open up to f3.5 at 10mm. I have a standard 50mm f1.4, but it's probably a bit too telephoto to use with a crop sensor unless I want to just take pictures of peoples' faces and shoulders.

I'm trying to justify buying a FA 31mm f1.8 Limited or a DA 35mm f2.8 Limited Macro lens (limited is the word Pentax uses for metal encased lenses)... ugh LBA (lens buying addiction). Either would be a good walk around lens I think, but the macro would be useful in other ways.

[Seph]

Set up?
well.. this was taken the year before last(2 lights)
http://sephphoto.com/z/acen0290.jpg

This was taken last year(3 light set up)
http://sephphoto.com/z/acen594.jpg

This year, I might have a NO light set up
(still debating if im going to bring my strobes)

Realistically, I cant wander the hotel with these type of "set ups"

If you mean camera/lens combo...

the 10-17 is really great since you do not always have a lot of room to work with. Only problem with going 10 is the distortion. The 24-60 would be a decent choice, but depending how tight things are, more than likely your going to get 3/4 shots(again, only in tight places)
The 3.5 at 10 is noooooot that bad, I would just bump up the ISO

the 50 1.4 realistically wouldnt be that useful. if you HAVE to 1.4, if your not careful with its deep depth of field, you can really out of focus the subject if they, or you are moving at all what so ever.

there is no "one lens fits all" I use my 17-55 2.8 and that does the job just fine...

[aerialist]

i think at acen, i won't be as fully active as i should because I want to relax at a convention for once. But I think I'll be running just kit lens just to mess around with. 18-55 and maybe a 15mm fisheye for the wtf effects xD

I remember at youmacon, i had a 70-200 f/2.8 setup and that was balls out tiring. my hand got tired in 2 hours.

[chayito]

Ill be there ith my Nikon.. its its a film camera though.with a good lens. I love developing pictures and capture the moment all over again. I heard some hosting club was going to Acen so Im hoping for some good shots. I just bought a new studio kit thats portable... very excited!!!

[aerialist]

chayito, on Apr 19 2010, 10:16 PM, said:

Ill be there ith my Nikon.. its its a film camera though.with a good lens. I love developing pictures and capture the moment all over again. I heard some hosting club was going to Acen so Im hoping for some good shots. I just bought a new studio kit thats portable... very excited!!!

that's awesome! I've always wanted to do film photography, but I don't have that kind of patience xD

[Scott]

Seph, on Apr 19 2010, 10:46 AM, said:

Set up?
well.. this was taken the year before last(2 lights)
http://sephphoto.com/z/acen0290.jpg
This was taken last year(3 light set up)
http://sephphoto.com/z/acen594.jpg
Realistically, I cant wander the hotel with these type of "set ups"
If you mean camera/lens combo...

Those photos look good. You are right, I was talking more camera + lens for walking around.

I personally don't have much experience with flash photography. I very rarely use the camera's flash and I don't actually own any add-on ones yet. I do understand the benefits of fill-light or using directional lights to get the look you want. I've thought about buying a mid-grade on-camera flash, but at least with ACEN, I don't want to subject people to the flash as I'm sure they get enough of that over the weekend from digicam users and pro photographers. I have not done events or anything for money, so a flash has not been on the to-buy list.

At least with me, I do like having a lens that can let more light in if need be. Keeping a 2.8 stopped down to 3.5 would probably top any lens of the same MM that starts at 3.5 or whatever. I've been reading reviews at http://www.photozone.de to see where lenses are most effective (generally around 4 - 5.6, but something that starts at 1.4 will have a larger range of decent sharpness). Most often a lens quite a bit less in sharpness at the widest aperture from what I have see so far.

Seph, on Apr 19 2010, 10:46 AM, said:

This year, I might have a NO light set up
(still debating if im going to bring my strobes)
the 50 1.4 realistically wouldnt be that useful. if you HAVE to 1.4, if your not careful with its deep depth of field, you can really out of focus the subject if they, or you are moving at all what so ever.

It's probably a good idea to go with whatever makes it the most fun for you versus the results you are looking for.

I agree with the 50mm not being that useful. I don't use it much as it's too telephoto for me with an APS-C sensor. A 31 or 35mm would get close to what a 50mm is to full-frame cameras, but the two I like are pretty expensive. The one benefit of a large aperture in situations like ACEN is that it's easier to blur out busy backgrounds and focus on the subject using point-selective or manual focus. Using 1.4 is probably a bad idea though like you said. Maybe f2 - f3.5 would be a nice compromise with the 50 as I'd want their whole face in decent focus. That's probably a bit difficult to do in the field though.

I'm tossing around the idea of doing this:
The new camera with better high ISO would have the 10-17mm or 24-60mm on it (I'll carry that camera around with a neck strap). I have a small top-loading Tamrac SLR bag that my older SLR + prime lens fits in. I'll put something like the 50mm (or the 40mm 2.8 "pancake" lens Pentax sells) on that camera and remove the camera strap, leaving the older camera in the bag. It should be easy enough to access both cameras that way and not really add any weight except a few oz. from the second camera. Due to how the pancake lens is designed, it's pretty equal in sharpness over all apertures, which makes 2.8 more useful.

I'll take 1-3 photos with the main camera and 1-2 with the secondary one. That way I can get some variation without having to fiddle around with lenses.

Hmm yeah... 10-17mm + 40mm sounds good. I'm having a friend sell some stuff for me on ebay, so I think I'll opt for that. The 40 is a lot cheaper than the 31 and 35.

Seph, on Apr 19 2010, 10:46 AM, said:

the 10-17 is really great since you do not always have a lot of room to work with. Only problem with going 10 is the distortion. The 24-60 would be a decent choice, but depending how tight things are, more than likely your going to get 3/4 shots(again, only in tight places)
The 3.5 at 10 is noooooot that bad, I would just bump up the ISO

I agree (good advice there). My cosplay photos in my profile were taken with the 10-17mm and a wireless remote. It's actually a fish-eye lens, but isn't quite as extreme as it would be on a full-frame camera. I really like the distortion effect, even though some people are not too fond of it.

Seph, on Apr 19 2010, 10:46 AM, said:

there is no "one lens fits all" I use my 17-55 2.8 and that does the job just fine...

I agree with you there too. As for me, it's fun learning what other people do, so I can take their tips and try them out.
That lens you use is probably the closet to a one size fits all. It's pretty close to what standard kit lens are in range, but with higher-end glass for better quality.


Sorry for the long post, I'm getting into Photography Otaku mode.

[aerialist]

for kicks, i actually want to see someone at acen work with a 300+mm lens xD I will gladly buy them pocky for such balls

[Seph]

aerialist, on Apr 19 2010, 05:01 PM, said:

for kicks, i actually want to see someone at acen work with a 300+mm lens xD I will gladly buy them pocky for such balls

dont forget.. you can only be pro if you have the largest camera and lens around right?
I see a lot of guys at acen carrying there camera combo set ups like trophy's
And what happens when a cosplayer asks them if they can have an image taken. is the photographer going to say "ok sure, but your going to have to stand a city block from me so i can get you in frame"?



Scott.. just go with the 10-17. there are going to be a LOT of times that are going to make you wish you had a zoom lens on your camera.. but you know what.. if you have your zoom lens on your camera, you are going to wish you had your wide angle every so often........

you can win unless you want to tote around two bodies.....


Stick with one lens, and accept that there will be situations you will not be able to photograph. Accept that.. and you will enjoy yourself much more at the con....

thinking to much on technology and technique during a con can really dampen your experience..
do you want to have fun at the con or take THE perfect images...

its either or.. not both....
find the median, and your golden

[frzndaqiri]

Most point and shoots don't go very wide - so 1. there is typically plenty of space for the larger gatherings and 2. people are used to giving you plenty of space. I run my 17-85 and don't find I have much trouble getting the shot I want.

I'll be stuck in AA however, so if anyone wants to stop by and chat please do (always willing to talk shop). I run a Canon 30D - and saving for a 5D MKII.

[aerialist]

trophy cameras are awesome though!
I laugh when i see someone lugging one around.

But definitely I would keep keep a lens in the double digits.
135mm would probably be the most you'd need concidering the outdoor shoots and stuff.

[Seph]

aerialist, on Apr 19 2010, 07:30 PM, said:

trophy cameras are awesome though!
I laugh when i see someone lugging one around.

But definitely I would keep keep a lens in the double digits.
135mm would probably be the most you'd need concidering the outdoor shoots and stuff.

not if your indoors and walking through the halls though

[Scott]

Seph, on Apr 19 2010, 06:59 PM, said:

dont forget.. you can only be pro if you have the largest camera and lens around right?
I see a lot of guys at acen carrying there camera combo set ups like trophy's
And what happens when a cosplayer asks them if they can have an image taken. is the photographer going to say "ok sure, but your going to have to stand a city block from me so i can get you in frame"?

I guess I'm safe about not being a pro because the K-7 + battery grip is still smaller than a Canon 7D.

Seph, on Apr 19 2010, 06:59 PM, said:

Scott.. just go with the 10-17. there are going to be a LOT of times that are going to make you wish you had a zoom lens on your camera.. but you know what.. if you have your zoom lens on your camera, you are going to wish you had your wide angle every so often........
you can win unless you want to tote around two bodies.....
Stick with one lens, and accept that there will be situations you will not be able to photograph. Accept that.. and you will enjoy yourself much more at the con....

Yeah, I will be using the 10-17 on the new camera for sure. I'm probably going to at least try what I described with two cameras. The older camera I have is small and it's not like I will be rocking both of them on a dual camera harness. hahaha. The older camera is basically going to be like a digicam to get some upper body shots with nice bokeh when I feel like it.

Basically the 10-17mm is it, but when I have some extra time with a person I'll pull out the smaller one with the 40mm prime to get a picture that will be completely different than what the 10-17 can provide. Like you said, I really should not bother bringing the 24-60 with me to the convention. Especially since it's as heavy as the small camera in itself.

Seph, on Apr 19 2010, 06:59 PM, said:

thinking to much on technology and technique during a con can really dampen your experience..
do you want to have fun at the con or take THE perfect images...

its either or.. not both....
find the median, and your golden

I'm just striking up some technical conversation for the fun of it. Usually when I am taking photos, I have the camera handle everything except which focal point to use. Pentax has a pretty basic 11-point system with 4 points in the "rule of thirds" focal points (the ones I tend to like using). I'm not overly fond of using the center point and recomposing or just letting the camera pick points. With wide angle it's less of an issue though, so I might just have the new camera go full auto most of the time.

[Scott]

chayito, on Apr 19 2010, 04:16 PM, said:

Ill be there ith my Nikon.. its its a film camera though.with a good lens. I love developing pictures and capture the moment all over again. I heard some hosting club was going to Acen so Im hoping for some good shots. I just bought a new studio kit thats portable... very excited!!!

Wow film!

Are you talking about the maids? Yeah, it sounds like a group that tours around will be there. I'd be curious to know what their photography policy is.

[Prayer Police]

Anyone bringing their instant picture Polaroid cameras?
Polaroids rock!
Why wait for film to be developed (or printed) when you can have them right away? Bam, there it is!